


Thoughts, Dreams and Feelings

by wildeisms



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: (except not anymore), Autistic Newt Scamander, First Time, Jacob Was Not Obliviated, M/M, POV Alternating, Slight Internalised Transphobia, Trans Male Character, Transgender Newt Scamander, Virgin Newt Scamander, Wildly Varying Chapter Lengths, everyone is bi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-09-08 14:59:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8849479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildeisms/pseuds/wildeisms
Summary: Sometimes it takes a few strange dreams and a little legilimency to point people in the right direction





	1. Chapter 1

Just a few weeks ago, the wildest thing Jacob Kowalski had ever dreamed about was finding himself asked to fly a zeppelin as part of the war effort, even though he was certain that the war was over and had no idea how to do such a thing anyway. It had been strange, but nothing compared to what his dreams had become.

_ He had been inside Newt’s suitcase, watching with awe as the man bounced and twirled his way around his workshop, working on some concoction, the finer details of which escaped Jacob entirely, and chattering away merrily. To the old Jacob Kowalski, this would have been bizarre enough. But the new Jacob Kowalski, the man who knew of magic and wizards and strange creatures, wouldn’t have been concerned by that aspect of the dream whatsoever. _

_ The issue came with what happened next. Newt had turned and caught the expression on Jacob’s face, then blushed a shade of pink which Jacob may or may not have found adorable. “Are you truly still interested to hear me going on?” Newt had asked in a soft, almost shy voice, his eyes pointed at Jacob’s chest rather than his face. _

_ “I’d be interested to hear you saying anything. I’m interested in you,” he had replied, with a boldness that he had never shown in his waking hours.  _

_ “You mean you find me interesting, or..?” _

_ “Or,” Jacob confirmed, and before he could consider what he was doing, he was kissing Newt softly, his hands cupping the taller man’s face. Perhaps even more surprisingly, Newt was kissing him back, pressed close against him and holding him tight, his lips parted and his eyes closed. He was so beautiful like this… _

_ Jacob could have kept going, but Newt seemed to need air and pulled back, but he didn’t stray far - he slipped his hand up Jacob’s shirt and kissed his neck, lavishing him with attention and affection while Jacob’s hands moved to his hips, then slowly further down. An indecent, appreciative noise left Newt’s lips, and he pressed himself closer to Jacob’s body as if he couldn’t get enough of him, and of course he would be only too happy to oblige... _

A crash from the other room pulled Jacob abruptly from his sleep, and he found himself equal parts irritated that the dream had ended so soon and embarrassed by its mere existence. No decent guy should be having dreams like that about their friends, particularly not their male friends. Even if those male friends had endearing mannerisms and a cute smile. Which was another thought he should really not be having. Best to chalk it up to the weird after-effects of the strange - not pleasant - dream and move on with his life. 

Except it wasn’t just the dream. True, he had never let his mind wander quite that far before, but there had been moments - little flashes of quickly suppressed feelings - ever since Jacob had first met Newt Scamander. Initially, he would have insisted it was just the madness of being shown an entirely new world that made him feel this way, but the longer the pair spent together, the less sure he became. 

He sighed and dragged himself out of bed. Since he was awake, he may as well go and investigate whatever had made the noise. It was probably another one of Newt’s creatures loose in the apartment again - they had to be very careful about locking the doors these days, or else they’d end up with another niffler incident, and Tina would be on them so fast they’d have to leave the city to avoid her anger. 

Jacob slipped out into the hall, trying his best to keep quiet. He had assumed Tina and Queenie were probably still asleep and jumped in surprise when he found Queenie in the kitchen, cleaning up a broken mug by the light of the just rising sun. To his complete confusion, she turned bright red when she saw him and barely mumbled a greeting, then turned her attention back to the shards of china on the floor.

Then it hit him like a tonne of bricks, and embarrassment coursed through every inch of his body. Would she have been able to read his mind while he was sleeping, even if she was in a different room? He cleared his throat uncomfortably, wishing for something to break the silence. And unfortunately, his wish was granted in the worst way.

“Yeah, I can,” Queenie replied, her eyes still cast firmly away from him. “I don’t take any problem with it, don’t you worry, honey. I just… I feel like I walked in on the real deal, and that’d make any girl a little awkward, you know?”

“I didn’t mean for you to- I’m sorry. And it’s not- it’s nothing, not like... It was just a really strange, out of nowhere dream that don’t mean nothing, okay?” he stammered out, crouching down to mop up the spilt coffee with a rag. 

“Let me. Scourgify,” she said and pointed her wand at the mess. Instantly, it disappeared as if it had never been there. She then tapped all the shards of the broken mug with it and murmured “Reparo.” The mug reassembled itself, good as new, and Jacob wondered if magic would ever become any less astounding. 

She poured herself another cup of coffee and then laid out a second one for Jacob as she looked him over, and he had a sneaking suspicion that she was actively searching in his mind. “I know a guy,” she said suddenly, drawing Jacob’s attention back to the real world, “a pure gentleman from someplace down south, and he has a man instead of a girl. Lotsa people would say it ain’t right, but they say that about wizards and nomaj or blacks and whites.”

Jacob stared at her for a second. “I’ve had girls, though. It’s just a weird one-off thing.” Except for that one guy in the war, and the two he went to school with… But that wasn’t anything worth thinking about, they were nothing. And of course, he had to think about them in front of a girl who could read minds. Damn it. “I’m not a-” he began, but cut himself off. Even thinking that word felt wrong to him, particularly when Queenie could hear it.

Queenie was smiling a little as she sipped her drink. “It don’t matter. I mostly like guys, but now and again, I might notice a pretty girl,” she said in a voice that Jacob thought was far too offhand for such a confession. “Of course, it helps if you can tell which girls might be that way inclined, but I’m pretty damn sure I’m not the only one.”

“I… Do you know when anyone is, er, that way inclined?” he asked, looking down at his own mug to avoid looking her in the eye.

“Not all the time. Only if people think about it when I’m around.”

A not insignificant part of him wondered if Newt had ever thought about it in front of Queenie, but even if he had wanted a man before, that was no guarantee he’d want Jacob. He knew full well he wasn’t Hollywood hot. He wasn’t the type of guy ladies fell over, so why would men? Particularly cute British men who had travelled the whole world, and seen all the better options it had to offer, and were used to constant excitement and adventure. 

“Stop that,” Queenie scolded, a frown tugging at her full lips. “There’s no one like you in this whole world, and you’re a good-looking guy. Give it a chance, why don’t you? Trust me.”

There were a number of good reasons why not, but somehow he couldn’t call a single one to mind that was strong enough to counter his own desires after what Queenie had said to him. There were other people who felt this way, other people who were good and happy. And if Queenie was so adamant, perhaps she had seen something in Newt’s mind too. And with Newt’s oblivious nature, he could probably back out without the man being any the wiser if it looked like his advances weren’t wanted.

“Good luck,” Queenie said with a wink and a grin. “Go get him.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Queenie's support in mind, Jacob attempts to confess his feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thank you to everyone who's been leaving kudos and feedback so far, and I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

His heart pounding, Jacob nodded and headed back towards his bedroom. Newt’s case was lying there on the floor, closed and seemingly just an old, slightly worn object. But Jacob knew better now. He flipped the catch open and, with a little effort, lowered himself inside. It wasn’t really made for a man of his size to slip into with the same ease that Newt himself had, but he managed well enough and soon landed on his feet in Newt’s workshop. The lights were off and there were no creatures moving about in this particular room - if a section of a magically enormous suitcase could be classed as a room. They must be sleeping, or at least aware that Newt was. Which was something that he had briefly forgotten. It was still early, barely light outside, and he had actually thought he would be able to see Newt immediately. What a stupid thought. 

However tempting it was, he decided against searching for Newt’s bedroom to either wake the man or catch a glimpse of what he looked like asleep - did he snore? Would he curl up small or spread his long limbs out over the mattress? What did he wear to bed? - since he was fairly certain that even with his more eccentric nature, even Newt would find that strange. So he waited, and tried not to let his nerves get the better of him.

It took all of five minutes for him to give up on that particular idea.

Instead of standing there, alone with his thoughts, he went to seek out the few creatures who he had actually managed to form a bond with. It was not as strong as Newt’s was, but then again Jacob couldn’t imagine any human forming an attachment with any creature as strong as Newt’s was to all of his. The mooncalves, an occamy and the demiguise all seemed to be at least comfortable with Jacob around, even if they would always prefer Newt. He didn’t blame them for that in the slightest; after all, Newt knew them best and had saved them all, treating them like his own children. 

He sat with the mooncalves for a while, giving them a few snacks and a bit of affection. They were making such a fuss of him that he didn’t hear the footsteps behind him, and only noticed Newt when he was right by his side. The man was wearing a worn looking shirt that seemed a little too short to be fully decent without trousers underneath it - not that Jacob minded - and a soft smile. “Good morning,” he said with a poorly stifled yawn, pushing his curls back from his face. “What brings you down here?”

“I…” Jacob began, his heart rate speeding up considerably at being put on the spot like this. It had been a terrible idea. Why had he let Queenie talk him into this, all because of a stupid dream?

“I don’t mind,” Newt assured him. “You can come and see my creatures anytime. In fact, you could help me with the breakfast rounds, if you’d like.”

Of course, Newt would assume he was only here for the creatures. Newt seemed to be incapable of understanding how anyone could avoid becoming obsessed with them. Sure, they were interesting enough and kind of sweet, but Jacob - and most other humans - would never reach that level of fanatical love which Newt had for them. But Jacob had to admit, watching him care for them with such devotion was pretty endearing.

The only trouble with that level of devotion was that it was near impossible to have a conversation with Newt that wasn’t about his creatures while he was caught up in feeding and checking on each and every one of them. Which was ordinarily very sweet, but not the most helpful when you’re trying to work up the courage to confess to something scandalous and important in equal measure.

Eventually, as they were nearing the end of their rounds, an opportunity presented itself. Newt’s stomach gave a soft rumble and Jacob seized the chance. “Hey, you hungry?” he asked in an offhand tone. Gotta keep it casual. Assess the situation before doing anything too crazy. As if this whole idea wasn’t totally crazy.

“Just a little,” Newt replied in surprise, which Jacob knew generally meant ‘very’. For someone who spent so much time looking after his creatures and should definitely know better, Newt really did have a bad habit of not looking after himself. 

“Do you want to have breakfast with me? I could make us something nice,” he offered. That had definitely sounded stupid, he knew it. Or perhaps it was just his nerves talking. How did you even ask out another guy? It wasn’t like any of the standard traditions could apply.

But to his surprise and immense relief, Newt didn’t seem to have noticed anything wrong. “That sounds wonderful. Will Tina and Queenie be joining us?”

There it was. “Ah, I thought it would be alright for just the two of us… I mean if you want, I can-”

“I don’t mind it being just the two of us,” Newt said hastily, his eyes downcast and unreadable. It could be pretty hard to work out what someone’s thinking when they so rarely make eye contact with anyone. But at least Jacob had seen him around others enough not to take it personally. 

“If you’re sure, ah, that’d be great. Quieter, y’know.” Was that a good enough reason? Did Newt suspect something was different already? Damn, what he wouldn’t give for some mind reading powers right about now.

“That sounds lovely,” Newt agreed. “Although… Am I supposed to dress first? I believe I am, but customs may be different here.”

“I don’t mind,” Jacob replied, and he truly meant it. There was something incredibly cute about Newt wandering around half dressed, and he would definitely not be opposed to such an event becoming a fixture in his daily life. 

For some reason, this response didn’t seem to put Newt at ease. “But would I be expected to, generally speaking?” he persisted.

“I guess so, yeah.”

Newt nodded and smiled slightly. “Alright, then. I’ll be back in just a moment. Shall I meet you out of the case in ten minutes?”

“Er, yeah, that sounds good,” Jacob agreed, the slightest hint of confusion in his voice. Newt really could be strange sometimes, but it didn’t bother him in the slightest.

True to his word, Newt wandered into the kitchen ten minutes later, dressed in a shirt and slacks with his sleeves rolled up, his waistcoat and jacket left behind and his hair still just as dishevelled as when he had first got up. He looked as though he had just come from some incredible adventure, the likes of which Jacob could never come close to imagining, but which probably involved saving some poor, innocent creature.

Jacob too had dressed in a similar manner, although he couldn’t look quite as gorgeous in it as Newt did. After all, the only appearance based category in which he could be considered above average was his weight, and that was hardly something to boast about. But Newt… There was nothing average about Newt Scamander.

“That smells wonderful, Jacob,” Newt said as he slipped into a seat at the table, watching Jacob load up their plates with eggs, bacon, and freshly made toast. The same seat which Jacob had been sat in just an hour before when he had decided to throw caution to the wind and see what might happen if he let himself try for happiness. 

“Thanks, buddy.” Buddy? Can you even call someone you’re attracted to buddy? Geez, this was going terribly. And now, of course, he was at a loss for what to say.

Thankfully, Newt stepped in and took away the responsibility. “I've never been much good in the kitchen, myself. I had house elves growing up, so I never really learned.”

“House elves… Those are those short little guys with the ears, right?” 

To Jacob’s delight, Newt smiled widely. “Yes, that's right! They're an interesting type of creature, very intelligent and magical, yet they live their lives as servants, and openly reject the idea of living independently. We had one at home when I was a child, and there are hundreds of them at Hogwarts. My mother cooked sometimes, but most of my meals came from house elves.”

“So you never cooked anything?” Forget a childhood of magic, that was the strangest thing Jacob had ever heard. For him, cooking and baking with his family had been a staple of his childhood. He couldn't even imagine having grown up without it.

“Not until adulthood, no.”

“Well, that'll be why you're no good. You've gotta learn, gotta be taught. I might not be able to do any of the fancy cooking spells, but I could teach you my way, if you want.”

Newt smiled, the faintest tint of pink appearing across his cheeks. “I'd like that.”

Was that blush because he was embarrassed that he couldn’t cook? Or was there something else to it? Before today, Jacob wouldn’t have dared hope for the latter, but now… Time to be smooth. Test the waters a little. And for God’s sake, try not to look like a total idiot.

“Me too,” Jacob said in a soft voice, catching Newt’s eye and holding his gaze for a moment. Even with Newt’s tendency to avoid eye contact, the moment lingered until Newt’s face flushed slightly darker and he looked down at his plate.

That definitely seemed like something. Surely, it had to be. Particularly after what Queenie had said to him earlier, it was hard to see another explanation. Better just go for it, before he had time to overthink it or chicken out. 

“Newt… Listen, I- I really like you.”

“Thank you, Jacob. I like you too.”

“No, I mean- Yeah, I like you, but I also  _ like _ you, you get what I’m saying?”

Newt frowned slightly in confusion. “I can’t say that I do. You did just use the same word twice, unless-” His eyes widened and he stared at Jacob, realisation etched across his features. “Oh. Oh! Jacob, I…”

Fuck. He was definitely going to turn him down, why had he ever thought that this was a good idea? Now he’d ruined everything, all because of some stupid feelings and one little dream. He braced himself for the worst.

“I’m… Why would someone like you like someone like me?”

That wasn’t what he’d been expecting at all. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, well, you could clearly do so much better. Find someone much more… suitable for you.” Newt seemed smaller than his considerable height, almost childlike as he said it. 

Jacob could have laughed at the absurdity of the situation if he hadn’t known for a fact that it would upset Newt. “I don’t think there’s anyone better for me. You’re… You’ve changed my life. And it’s weird and crazy and I’ve never done this with a guy before, not properly anyway, but I… I like you. And I want you to know that, whatever you do about it.”

Newt met his eyes again and, as if it were happening in slow motion, Jacob watched a smile spread across Newt’s face. “Jacob, I’m so… so incredibly flattered. And I like you too, of course I do, I would have to be incredibly stupid not to.”

Now it was Jacob’s turn to feel the heat rising in his face, although he didn’t have quite the same spectacular ability to change colour as Newt did. 

“But I don’t- Well, just- I don’t think you’d like me if- if you knew me better. Most people don’t.” 

“Firstly, what the hell are you talking about? And secondly, I’m not most people.”

“I know that, but-”

“What’re you guys talking about?”

It was Tina, dressed for work and gliding through into the kitchen. They both immediately clammed up, looking between each other and the witch in the doorway. 

“I have to go,” Newt mumbled. “We can, um- We can talk later.” Before either of them had time to react, he was already slipping past Tina with his face turned firmly towards the floor. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn it Newt, why are you like this? 
> 
> (Jacob's internal monologue in this chapter is highly inspired by my own ridiculous, overthinking brain when in the presence of a crush and also my general feelings of gayness for Newt Scamander.)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Goldstein sisters are the only things keeping these two on the right track.

Newt didn’t look up from the ground until he was safely deep inside his suitcase. In there, he was at home. He was safe, surrounded by creatures who were, despite everything, far easier to understand and deal with than people. People were much more complicated.

People would say that they like you and then change their minds the moment they realised that you weren’t useful to them, or that you’re weird or freaky or obsessive, or any number of things that could be wrong with you. Newt had learnt that the hard way. Right now, Jacob probably didn’t realise that Newt was strange, even for a wizard. But if he spent enough time around them, the allure of magic wouldn’t be enough to compensate for Newt’s failings.

And besides, if Jacob did want a man - which in itself was a little surprising, given that he had definitely been attracted to Queenie at least on a physical level, and Newt hadn’t met many other people without a preference before - he would almost certainly want a proper man. Not someone like Newt, someone who had needed the assistance of spells and potions to live this way and, if he were to undress in front of someone, who would still not be identical to those who had the luck of being born the way they were supposed to be. He had done his best with the powers that he had, but he was no Healer. He hadn’t even finished his final year of magical education, let alone the specific training needed to permanently alter bodies in such a manner.

He had made the choice years ago between living the life he wanted and sharing his life with another person. And even if he hadn’t made that choice, the chances of anyone wanting to love him would have been so small, he may as well have done. At least this way, he had a better chance at happiness in some areas of life.

But was this happiness? Every emotional part of him had wanted to throw caution to the wind and kiss Jacob right there and then, to see this as the best thing that could happen to him rather than just another opportunity to get hurt. The internal battle was still raging inside him, even now he was alone.

He sighed deeply and sank down onto the floor, leaning back against the bowtruckle tree. Even Pickett was starting to open up to others, splitting his time between riding around in Newt’s pocket and joining his fellows on the tree. Yet he seemed to notice something was wrong with Newt, as he climbed down and perched himself on Newt’s head. Gently, Newt lifted his hand for Pickett to climb onto and brought him down to eye level.

“Am I being ridiculous?” he asked the bowtruckle. “I adore Jacob, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, but I don’t know how he can like me. At least not in that way, although I am consistently surprised that anyone likes me in any way at all. Any human, at least,” he amended quickly, giving Pickett a little stroke on the top of his head with a single finger.

“I don’t fit in either, you see. It’s almost as if I’m my own species, and although I share similarities with humans, I’ll never quite be one. And I wouldn’t usually mind, there’s so many of us in here that it doesn’t really matter. But with him… He deserves a proper human. And we’re in New York anyway, there are multiple laws that would prevent us from being together anyway… Well, yes, I know I haven’t cared about laws before, but this is different. I don’t want to give anyone any reason to hurt him, or obliviate him, or anything else. And I don’t want to get in the way of his happiness when he could have someone so much better than me.”

Pickett looked up at him with an expression that could only be described as exasperated.

“What? Don’t give me that look, I... Oh, Merlin, I’m in love, aren’t I?”

He would do anything for Jacob, anything to ensure he was happy. And yet he still wanted him, even though those two ideas seemed to be conflicting.

Pickett jabbered at him and tapped him on the forehead, and Newt had the distinct impression that he was being called an idiot.

“Yes, yes, I’m sure you knew all along. I don’t suppose you have any idea what I should do about this, then? I can't just kiss him, can I?”

Pickett looked even more annoyed at that and folded his arms. That was probably a yes, then.

“What if it all goes wrong? What if I lose him forever?”

Friendship was tricky enough, but love… Love was something more. So many people fell out of love, so many loving relationships broke down, and if that happened, then he'd never be able to forgive himself. And yet Jacob had been willing to risk it all, and for what? For a chance to love a strange magizoologist with poor people skills and self-esteem issues.

“You gotta stop putting yourself down, honey.”

A soft voice behind him made Newt jump, nearly dropping Pickett in the process. “Queenie, what are you..? How long have you been there?”

“Long enough, and you’re thinking so loudly I’d’ve heard every word from the apartment anyway. Mind if I sit?”

“N-no, I mean, yes- I mean… No, I don’t mind, yes, you can sit,” he stammered, his entire face burning.  

Part of him felt that he ought to conjure a more suitable seat rather than making her sit on the ground, but before he had time to pull out his wand, she was sat cross-legged beside him, seemingly unperturbed by the seating arrangements.

“You’ve got a lot of love to give and someone who wants to give you their love back in return. Don’t throw it away just because it’s new and scary. Your whole life is full of new and scary.”

“Not like this.” The damage that could be done by magical creatures was nothing compared to the damage that could be done if this went wrong.

“Baloney. He’s already said he wants you, but you’re still thinking he’s gonna reject you. And yeah, maybe no one can guarantee forever, but right now you both want to try, so why don’t you?”

He didn’t need to answer out loud for Queenie to see each and every one of his insecurities and fears, bubbling to the surface of his mind. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight, and Pickett had to climb out of the way to avoid being embraced too. “Honey… There’s nothing wrong with you. Nothing, okay? I know you and I know Jacob, and I am totally sure that he’s going to want all of you, the parts he knows about and the parts he’s still going to discover. Including your parts,” she added with a little smirk, making Newt hide his face, his cheeks flaming even more brightly.

“Queenie,” he whined, but in among the waves of embarrassment was a thought that he had not previously considered. Would she have known all along?

“You do think about it when you meet new people,” Queenie said with a little shrug. “It doesn’t bother me, you know. You’re no lady and we both know it, Mr Scamander. But I haven’t told anyone, and I won’t unless you ask me to.”

A warm feeling spread inside him and he bounced in place, a movement he had trained himself to perform in the least noticeable way. He almost flapped his hands too, but managed to catch himself in time and turned the action into scratching the back of his neck, as if that was what he had intended to do all along.

“Thank you, Queenie,” he said simply.

She looked at him with an expression he couldn’t even begin to read - although expressions in general could be difficult sometimes, he usually had some idea of their meaning - and reached out to squeeze his hand. “You know, he’d understand if you’d talk to him. He might not get it right away, but he’d try and it wouldn’t stop him loving you, and he’d get there in the end. You two just fit together.”

It was then that Newt knew that Queenie’s ability was not solely magical. Even without her legilimency, Newt was confident that she would be able to understand others as easily and as naturally as she was able to breathe. It was an ability that he occasionally envied and always admired, and he was so incredibly grateful to have her as a friend.

Despite his awkwardness around physical contact, he gave her a tentative little squeeze, and she positively glowed with happiness.

“I’ll tell you what I told Jacob earlier. Go get him,” she said, gracefully rising and offering Newt a hand to help him up.

“Now?” he asked, alarmed by the prospect of such immediate action.

“I don’t think he’ll be able to stand waiting too long not knowing.”

\---

Up in the kitchen, neither Tina nor Jacob had moved for several seconds after Newt’s hasty exit. Neither had known what to do or say, but the prospect of doing or saying something wrong was equally terrifying as saying nothing. So Tina had remained standing just by the doorway as though someone had cast the full body bind curse on her, and Jacob had remained seated, albeit with his head in his hands.

Eventually, Tina broke the silence by charming her morning coffee into existence from the beans in the cupboard into a faded blue mug. It was only when she sat down opposite Jacob that the no-maj finally lifted his head. “Can you do that memory charm on everyone in this apartment and let me start today over?” he asked, and the corner of Tina’s mouth twitched slightly.

“Whatever you did can’t have been that bad. Come on, what was it?”

“I asked Newt on a date,” he confessed with a groan.

Tina almost spilled her coffee at that. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and she stared at Jacob in shock. “What? I didn’t know you were- Did he say yes? Is he even, y’know, into guys?” She gasped suddenly and brought her hand up to her mouth in a display of horror which, if it wasn’t for Jacob’s mood, would have been entertaining to him. “Did I interrupt before he could answer?”

“You’re not giving me much time to answer,” Jacob pointed out, but he didn’t mind it. Newt was the same way sometimes, overcome with too many thoughts to remember context or appropriate behaviour. From him particularly, it was adorable.

“Right, right. Well? What happened?” Tina asked eagerly.

So Jacob recounted the story, leaving out some of the finer details of course, it was bad enough that one Goldstein sister knew the extent of his thoughts dreams and feelings when it came to Newt Scamander, and she listened with rapt attention.

“So he says he likes me as if anyone would, so I reckon he means it, right? But then he starts saying I wouldn’t like him if I knew him better, and he runs off before I can get him to explain.” Which was mostly Tina’s fault, but she couldn’t have known not to enter her own kitchen.

“Well, it sounds like he mighta explained if he’d’ve stayed around long enough, right? So why don’t you go find him, and I’ll find Queenie and take her out for breakfast. Give the two of you some privacy.” The slight twitch of her lip suggested she wasn’t just thinking of them talking, but Jacob decided to take the more dignified route and pretend not to have noticed.

“Who knows now, though? You know how he gets.”

“You won’t know until you try. And if we’re out of your way, he might be more open to it.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right,” Jacob agreed, and for the second time that day, he rose out of his seat with a renewed confidence. “He said he liked me, after all. Yeah.”

It was that confidence which led him to stride towards the bedroom in which Newt’s suitcase resided, and collide with the man himself as he attempted to step out into the hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're going to sort their lives out in the next chapter, I promise. There will also be some explanation of my headcanons for how transitioning would work in the wizarding world in this era so look forward to that because I have put far too much thought into it.
> 
> I had a bit of a play with Newt's POV here, let me know what you think! Would you enjoy alternating chapters or would you rather I stick to one perspective as much as possible?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt opens up and gives himself to Jacob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I've been very busy with life stuff. To make up for the delay, this is an extra long (by my standards) chapter which earns this fic its E rating.

Newt had never been a graceful person. He had always stumbled his way through life with gangly limbs and clumsy hands that only worsened in the presence of other people, and long ago he had accepted that as part of his innate awkwardness. So he had grown quite accustomed to collisions with others, and was able to right himself quickly and clear his throat when he stepped straight into a wall of very attractive muggle. “S-sorry,” he stammered, barely glancing at Jacob’s face for fear of what he might see there. “I w-wasn’t-”

“Hey,” Jacob said in a voice that was somehow firm yet gentle at the same time. Just like how Newt imagined his touch would be if- No, Queenie was in the room behind him, he couldn’t think something like that in front of her! The dusting of pink underneath his freckles was quickly on its way to becoming a permanent feature. Really, how could Jacob find him attractive? He almost certainly looked ridiculous. 

“You look terrified. Come on, let’s go sit down and we can have that talk in private.”

“I’ll see you boys later. Teenie and me are going out,” Queenie’s voice came from behind Newt, followed by a sharp crack as she apparated away. They were alone, and Newt was, if anything, even more scared.

Queenie exuded ease and confidence and a level of comfort within herself that Newt had never been able to find in his own heart. She had made him feel like he deserved that feeling, even if he couldn’t reach it, but now he was alone and he was supposed to be brave, but bravery had never come quite so easily to him. There was a reason he had not joined his elder brother in Gryffindor when the Sorting Hat had sat atop his head and seen his heart more deeply than any other being had ever done before or since. 

Jacob, too, was brave. He had fought a war, taken a chance on his dreams, been pulled into a world that was nothing like his own and confessed attraction to another man, all without attempting to run away or back out. Newt was not that brave. 

But could he be? He had faced creatures, wizards and even muggles with the desire to hurt him before, and pushed through to reach his ends. Granted, the saving of a life and the entering into a relationship where not quite comparable, and one had far more potential for heartbreak regardless of whether the immediate outcome was success or failure, but should that stop him from trying in the same way he had tried countless times before to swallow his fear?

This time, they did not enter his suitcase, but instead sat down on the bed intended for Newt, which he never actually slept in. What was the point, when he had a bedroom of his own making in his case?

“Do you want to tell me why you think I’ll stop liking you?” Jacob asked, but there was no pressure in his voice. It seemed like a genuine question rather than a demand, yet Newt still had to take a steadying breath and remember Queenie’s words of comfort before he could answer. But he held onto his resolve and laid out his every flaw for Jacob to see.

“I’ve never been normal, or got on with people. I make mistakes in social situations and get overwhelmed by things which should come naturally. I can be reckless, stupid, ridiculous and stubborn. I care more for my creatures than myself, and I don’t think anyone or anything could make me abandon them. I’m no prize physically, and I don’t even-” He hesitated slightly. This was the part which Jacob was least likely to understand. But before he could muster up the courage to finish, Jacob spoke.

“Newt. I know all of that stuff, or at least the parts that are true, because damn if you aren’t the most beautiful man I’ve ever laid eyes on.” He shook his head. “I don’t know you could see yourself as anything but drop-dead gorgeous. You’ve got eyes and a mirror, right?” Newt blushed yet again - damn his complexion! - and Jacob continued. “I don’t want you to be like everyone else, I want you to be you. And that includes your reckless side, your social skills, and everything else you just mentioned.”

“And my vagina?” 

The words were out of his mouth before he had time to second guess himself, and his heart felt like it too would uncontrollably exit his body. Surely, no matter what Jacob was willing to put up with, this would be the most likely dealbreaker. And Newt couldn’t listen to Jacob talk about him like that, knowing it could be over the moment he dropped that final bombshell. The familiar feelings he had experienced so much in his youth, when he had first called himself Newt Scamander in public, returned to him - shame, embarrassment, and the uneasy sense that he was participating in some form of trickery by trying to exist as he wanted to be rather than as nature had made him. He had managed to squash those feelings under the euphoria of feeling right for the first time in his life, or at least he thought that he had. But sex had never come into the equation before. Jacob, of course, would want it, and Newt couldn’t deny that he did too. But for how long would he have been able to pull of temporary transfiguration charms to create the expected anatomy when he had discovered years ago that he had neither the skills nor the understanding of such parts to create a permanent change? Jacob would have found out in the end, and that would have been far worse than any fallout from telling him upfront. 

Jacob was staring at him, his mouth slightly open. Was that simply shock, or was there disgust in his eyes? Did he feel that Newt had tricked him, that he had been pretending rather than just doing the best he could with a misfortune of birth? “Your what?” he said finally, and Newt wished, not for the first time in his life, that he was better at understanding tone and expression. He closed his eyes so he wouldn’t even have to see the latter, and tried to ignore the waves of nausea crashing over him.

“My vagina,” he repeated in a smaller voice. “I don’t- I’m not, strictly speaking, completely male. I’ve done all I can do myself, removed, ah, other parts, changed the shape of my body, my voice, almost everything external, and taken potions to help with the, erm, internal mechanisms. But you see, transfiguring something you can’t see is an almost impossible task, requiring skill and understanding of that which you want to transfigure that I- I don’t have.” He rushed through his explanation as though he had only a limited time to stop Jacob from irreversibly hating him for this, but still didn’t dare open his eyes.

“Whoa, hold on… I’m gonna need a minute here. So you… You were a girl?” Jacob asked slowly, his tone still agonisingly unreadable.

Newt nodded his head. “I hated it,” he whispered. “I couldn’t be a girl forever, I had to…”

“Okay... So you... turned yourself into a guy, got a new body, with magic?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. This is the same body I’ve always had, but with a few… modifications.”

“You, er… You did a good job,” Jacob said, and Newt was able to pick up on an awkwardness that appeared in his own voice all too often. “I wouldn’t have been able to tell.”

“Thank you. I prefer it that way. I don’t want people to call me a girl again.” The thought alone filled him with unease and made him want to shrink in on himself until he disappeared entirely. Jacob must have noticed a difference in him, because suddenly there were strong arms around him and a firm hand rubbing his back. 

“I’m not gonna call you a girl,” Jacob promised. “Look. I can’t say I get it, but I don’t get much about your life, and I’m still here. It’s all new to me. You’ve shown me magic and weird creatures I couldn’t even dream up. After all that, how could a guy with a vagina be too much for me?”

Newt let out a small noise that was somewhere in between a laugh and a sniffle and buried his face against Jacob’s neck. There was the faint scar from where murtlap had bitten him, but more than that, Newt couldn’t help noting how nice Jacob smelled, and how pleasant this position was. A life in which he got to spend plenty of time wrapped in Jacob Kowalski’s arms would be a truly wonderful existence. 

“Was that the reason?” Jacob asked after a moment’s silence.

“Hmm?”

“The reason you thought I’d stop liking you.”

“I thought you’d want a proper man,” Newt confessed, and Jacob kissed the side of his head. That simple contact made a warmth spread through him like the faintest notes of phoenix song, and he could only imagine how incredible more would feel. 

“I already told you, I want  _ you _ . I gotta say, I’m surprised you feel the same way, when I’m not all that special-”

“You’re incredibly special. I’ve never known anyone like you before.” Newt lifted his head to look Jacob in the eye, and there was no misreading the expression there. “May I kiss you?” he asked softly, glancing down with instinctive shyness.

“Yes,” Jacob murmured as he leant in to press their lips together.

Newt had kissed people before, although admittedly neither often nor deeply, and rarely with the same person more than once. But he did have some experience in that department, at least. And yet somehow, every other instance of kissing which he had ever experienced vanished from his mind, replaced by speeding images of every way in which he could mess this up. Should he be using his tongue? His teeth? Opening his mouth more? What was it that normal people even did during kissing? He should definitely have asked someone or consulted some kind of guide before recklessly asking to do this, what had he been thinking?

Then Jacob’s hands were in his hair and on his waist and his eyes were closing, and the warmth inside him felt stronger now, overwhelming him with sheer want. This was incredible, intoxicating… Nothing else mattered but the feel of Jacob’s lips against his. Then there was Jacob’s tongue and Newt jumped slightly - this was not something he’d done before, what was he meant to do in response? - but when Jacob made as if to pull back, Newt caught his lower lip in between his own and pulled him close again. Yet Jacob didn’t try to do it again, and Newt couldn’t help wishing he’d better controlled his reaction. It had, despite the initial shock and panic, been rather pleasant. In an uncharacteristically daring moment, Newt swiped his tongue across Jacob’s lower lip and parted his own a little further. He, of course, couldn’t take the lead when he barely knew what he was doing, but perhaps he could imply that he would very much like another attempt to be made now that he was expecting it, and hope that Jacob would pick up on the hint. And to Newt’s - rather vocal - delight, he did.

Only when he felt as though Jacob had stolen every breath from his lungs did he pull back with a nervous giggle and a terrible flush that had very little to do with embarrassment. And soon Jacob was giggling too, and looking at Newt as though he were something magnificent. Which, in that moment, he felt like he could be. The look on his face combined with his giggling was so endearing that Newt had the overwhelming urge to kiss him again. So naturally, he leant in and pecked his lips briefly. 

“You’re absolutely stunning, did you know that?” Newt asked when he pulled back for the second time.

“If I didn’t, you did a great job showing me,” he grinned, and it seemed that he had been gripped with a similar urge, which Newt did not mind in the slightest. He could certainly get very used to such frequent kissing. “I feel like I’ve gotta be dreaming right now.”

“Do you often dream of kissing me, then?”

“Sometimes. Among other things.” And in case the implication hadn’t already been mortifyingly obvious, Jacob winked at him.

“Oh, Merlin’s beard…” Newt moaned, ducking his head to hide behind his fringe and his hands. While he would have assumed that to be the case, being so abruptly confronted with the idea was more than a little bit flustering. Not to mention the fact that he was now imagining the contents of those dreams in great detail, wondering how they would compare to his own. Naturally, they would have been inaccurate anatomically, but the basics would still be achievable. The thought had the blood rushing even more distinctively to his face, and - mercifully unnoticeably - to other areas. 

Jacob pushed back his hair and kissed him on the flaming forehead. “You’re really cute when you get all embarrassed,” he teased.

“‘M not,” he mumbled, but leant against Jacob all the same. The embrace was innocent, but a part of his mind was still caught up on the potential contents of Jacob’s dreams. 

“Yeah, you are. But you’re cute all the time.”

Perhaps he was the one dreaming? This was all so perfect, so much better than he would have dared hope for, that a part of him doubted whether it was real. But if it was a dream, he was in no hurry to wake up. Jacob’s body was warm and soft against his and he smelled sweet and welcoming in a way Newt couldn’t quite describe. All he knew was, although he had not made the potion for some time, it would be part of the scent of amortentia. 

Newt sighed happily and let himself relax fully in Jacob’s arms. Yes. He could definitely get used to this. “I dream about you too,” he said after a few moment’s contented silence.

“Huh? You mean like… the same kinda dreams I have?” Jacob asked. He may have imagined it, but Newt thought he heard the other man’s breath hitch slightly, and felt the odd sensation that he was being stared at.

“I… Is that alright?” Should he have kept that information to himself? Jacob had told him, but perhaps he had not been meant to reciprocate. Merlin, relationships were confusing. People were confusing. 

“Yeah,” Jacob said quickly, and Newt felt him swallow nervously.  “Yeah, it’s fine. Really. Ah, more than fine.”

Newt lifted his head to look at him, tilting it to the side like a curious hippogriff. “Have I embarrassed you?” he asked. Now, that would be interesting. He was very rarely on this side of such an incident; usually, he was the one getting flustered. 

“I wouldn’t say ‘embarrassed’.” 

Jacob glanced down very briefly, but it was enough. Newt’s eyes widened in understanding and he couldn’t hold back a little giggle. “You’re so filthy minded,” he teased, despite the fact that his own mind had been to a very similar place just moments ago. And was currently returning there. Damn it. 

Jacob laughed and elbowed Newt gently. “I think I prefer ‘imaginative’.”

“And what is it exactly that you’re imagining?” 

Had he really asked that? It was bizarre, he never felt this brave in front of people. And yet here he was, willingly entering into a sexual conversation with an incredibly gorgeous man. He couldn’t do this, it would surely be too much. “I-I mean, y-you don’t have to tell me, it’s- I was just… I’m sorry,” he stammered, only daring to look at Jacob through a shield of ginger curls.

“You don’t have to be sorry, I think I like this side of you. Makes me wonder what other thoughts you’re hiding from me,” he said, and Newt couldn’t miss the smirk on his face.

“You’re enjoying this too much,” Newt grumbled, but he didn’t mind, not really. This sort of teasing was different to the kind he was used to, and even though the topic in question was mildly mortifying, he didn’t feel as though he wanted to run away and hide forever, never interacting with another human again. Which, for him, was quite significant. 

“Maybe I am. But I’m also enjoying the thoughts of you butt ass naked in my lap, so I think I’m winning here,” he grinned. 

The heat of Newt’s face could almost certainly start a fire if Jacob carried on like this. “Oh, Merlin…” he moaned, and not even he could tell whether it came from embarrassment or desire. That certainly was a wonderful image, but this was all dizzyingly fast. Or was that just his nerves talking? He had known Jacob for over a month by now, albeit as a friend rather than a lover. But what, other than the more intimate activities that were in question, separated the two anyway? He was already familiar and completely enamoured with Jacob, after all. And it wasn’t as if he hadn’t had such thoughts and dreams, even going further into the realm of debauchery on some occasions. But he had the feeling Jacob wouldn’t mind.

“Hey, you did ask! But I’m gonna be a gentleman,” Jacob continued. “And as much as I’d love to do you six ways from Sunday right here on this bed, I don’t want to rush this. So if you want me to back off, I’ll back off and wait as long as you need me to.”

Newt settled back into a comfortable position against him and thought for a moment. “I do thoroughly want to have sex with you. And while I think I understand the theory, I don’t exactly have the practical experience, and I wouldn’t want to disappoint you by not living up to your fantasies,” he said eventually. If he was going to lay himself bare in front of Jacob in the literal sense, he was going to do so in the emotional sense too. 

But Jacob didn’t seem to mind. He kissed Newt on the head and ruffled his hair, and Newt could have stayed there forever. “I don’t care that you’re a virgin. I mean, I’m a little surprised, you’re so gorgeous, I’d’ve thought people would have been all over you all your life, but I don’t mind. And hey, it helps my ego if you don’t have anyone to compare me to.”

Newt giggled and shook his head. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Says the magizoologist with a magic suitcase full of creatures. You’re the most ridiculous man I’ve ever met.”

He had a point there, and Newt couldn’t think of a decent enough counterargument. So he did what anyone in his situation would do: he sat up, cupped Jacob’s face in his hands, and pulled him in for another deep kiss. 

Despite his earlier concerns, kissing seemed to be a simple mix of imitation and instinct. Perhaps he was not as adventurous as he could have been, but playing it safe and doing what felt and seemed right was comfortable and allowed him to dedicate his full attention to the sensations. Jacob’s moustache brushed against his own, perpetually bare upper lip - he’d never bothered with the spells to create facial hair of his own - and Newt couldn’t help wondering how that soft-yet-rough sensation would feel on other areas of his body were Jacob to kiss him elsewhere. And there was his tongue again, and this time Newt was ready and oh-so-willing, and was better, so much better, so good that it made him moan against Jacob’s lips, and then he was straddling Jacob’s lap and being kissed with a renewed vigour which he was more than happy to return. 

Then Jacob’s hands were on him, pulling him in as if every inch which separated their bodies was causing him physical pain, but Newt didn’t mind one bit. He shifted position and gasped when his ass came into contact with an unmistakable hardness, and the heat that pooled low inside him grew until he felt that he would surely explode if he didn’t get more. It was dizzying and more intense than anything he had ever given himself, but he was loving every second of it.

“Is this okay?” Jacob’s voice came out strangled and breathless, and Newt almost laughed. It was better than okay, it was wonderful! “Can I…?” He gestured towards Newt’s shirt and let the rest of the question hang unsaid, but Newt didn’t need the rest.

“Yes. Definitely yes. And more, if you like,” he replied, and his own voice was equally changed. “I want you.”

Jacob was looking at him with dark eyes filled with unmistakable lust, but there was more than that. There was something akin to reverence, to worship, as Jacob undid Newt’s shirt with fumbling fingers and stripped off the undershirt beneath, leaving Newt’s torso completely bare. Or as bare as something can be when it’s covered in freckles and scars. But Jacob didn’t seem to mind those one bit. In fact, it seemed that they’d taken his fancy, as he was kissing a particularly deep scar just below Newt’s collarbone. Then his lips moved to Newt’s neck and the kissing became rougher, he was kissing and sucking on the flesh around Newt’s pulse point, and Newt would have never predicted that it would feel this good. 

“Oh! Jacob, yes!” he moaned, his head tilting back of its own accord. He rolled his hips again, prompting a similar sound from Jacob, which sent sparks through Newt’s body. Pure, primal need was overtaking him, he couldn’t think of anything but the man beneath him and how very much he wanted ‘beneath’ to become ‘inside’. 

Somehow, he managed to gain enough mental clarity to pull back for a second, extract his wand from his pocket and cast a quick charm on the room before discarding it on the bedside table. “Soundproofing spell,” he explained when Jacob gave him a questioning look. “We can be as loud as we like and no one outside these walls will be able to hear.”

“I love magic,” Jacob said with a soft laugh as he pulled Newt in for another kiss. 

This time, it was Newt that broke it, too eager to get Jacob’s clothes off and get some sense of relief from the ache of need. The temptation to shove his hand down the front of his trousers and rub was growing stronger with each passing second that his clitoris was ignored. But he fought it, and instead focused his attention on the removal of Jacob’s shirt, only pausing when he had him completely topless. 

“You’re stunning,” he murmured. Even with his need, he simply had to remark on how beautiful a man Jacob Kowalski really was. He looked practically pornographic, dark eyes and messy hair and a grin on his face that Newt would have been powerless to prevent himself imitating if he had tried. “Oh, I want you so badly, it hurts.”

“I’m with you on that,” he replied, his hand trailing down Newt’s torso towards the waistband of his trousers, making Newt’s breath catch in his throat. Vaguely, in the back of his mind, he wondered if Jacob would be disappointed after all on seeing him naked, but the majority of his mind was filled with thoughts of a much more carnal nature.

Then Jacob’s hand was inside his already wet boxers and Newt whined as his fingers brushed against the sensitive skin there. But it wasn’t enough, not quite the spot that felt best. Newt bucked his hips up against Jacob’s hand with a low moan, desperate for just the right kind of friction.

“Fuck, Newt. You’re goddamn beautiful, you know that?” Jacob breathed, and somehow, Newt believed him. He felt beautiful like this, with Jacob looking at him this way and so obviously wanting him. “Can I take your pants off?”

Of course, ‘pants’ meant trousers in this country, but Newt couldn’t be expected to remember such information at a time like this, could he? “I’ll do it,” he murmured, grabbing his wand and extracting himself temporarily from Jacob’s lap. Within seconds, his shoes, socks, trousers and underwear were all folding themselves neatly on a chair and Newt was stood before his lover wearing nothing but a shy smile. Would he be good enough for Jacob?

He needn’t have worried. Jacob was staring at him, partially in shock but mostly as though he were a work of art, and the finest work of art he had ever seen. “Oh my God… You’d better get over here quick, because I don’t know how much longer I can take just looking at you when I want to fuck you this badly.”

Another flick of his wand and Jacob’s clothing was joining his own on the chair, and now it was Newt’s turn to stare. “Will that fit inside me?” he blurted out before he could stop himself, and instantly felt completely stupid. Of course it would. He knew the mechanics, knew that his hole could stretch much wider than would be required for any penis, and yet he was still a little nervous. He’d never had anything thicker than two of his fingers up there before, and this was quite a step up. And yet Jacob was so utterly gorgeous and Newt wanted him so badly that he would have let himself be torn entirely in two if it meant that he got to have him.

To his credit, Jacob did not laugh at Newt. Instead, he pulled him back onto his lap and kissed him again. “I’ll be gentle. If you’re wet, that’ll help, and we can try fingers first if it’s too much. But if you don’t want it inside you, we can always find other ways to have fun. Okay?”

Newt gave him a small smile and another peck on the lips. “I’ve tried fingers before, I can manage that.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jacob asked, and without the layers of clothing between them, Newt could feel just how interesting this information was to him.

“Mm. I like internal and external stimulation at the same time.”

“Fuck, that’s hot,” Jacob moaned, and suddenly Newt was being pulled down into a horizontal position on the bed and Jacob was on top of him and kissing him fiercely. Newt grabbed his back and pulled him down, his legs spreading almost of their own accord.

“Touch me, Jacob. Please,” he whined, and the man on top of him seemed eager to oblige. His touch was lighter, more hesitant than Newt was used to, but it was enough to have him moaning in seconds. Which, it turned out, was the encouragement Jacob needed to rub harder. “Oh! Oh, yes, like that, please!” he gasped, unable to stop his hips from bucking. He could orgasm from this alone if Jacob kept it up so well, but he didn’t want it to be over until they had done the deed to its full extent. 

“Goddamn, you’re the sexiest guy I’ve ever seen,” Jacob said, his voice low and rough, and Newt felt him rut against him. No sense in making him wait, not when Newt was dying for something inside of him. He felt agonisingly empty and soaking wet, and he needed Jacob right now.

“Oh, fuck me,” he begged as he rolled his hips up to meet Jacob’s. “I can take it, I want it, please Jacob.”

“You sure?” Jacob asked, stilling his movements for what was likely only a few seconds but felt far too long.

“Yes, I’m sure. I’ll tell you if it hurts, but I think I can do it.” He wasn’t about to pretend that he wasn’t at least a little bit nervous, but Jacob had told him it would be fine. And he trusted Jacob more than he had ever trusted another living person. If he wanted to back out, he would be able to. But right now, he wanted this more than anything.

“Okay, baby. You want fingers first?” Jacob asked, but Newt shook his head.

“I just want your- your cock inside me.”

Jacob moaned and rutted against Newt for one last time before pulling back. He grabbed a spare pillow, and Newt frowned slightly. What was that for? Was it going to hurt so much he’d need something to hold onto?

Something of his thoughts must have shown on his face, as Jacob leant down to give him a reassuring kiss. “If you put this under your ass, it’ll feel better. Trust me.” And of course, Newt did. He lifted his hips up and let Jacob slide the pillow under there, spreading his legs shamelessly wide and planting his feet on the bed to keep himself steady. It was strange, exposing himself so completely. He had gone to such effort over the years to hide everything about himself that could cause him to be considered female, but here he was, legs wide open and trusting Jacob to still care for him, to not think any less of him. And of course, to fuck him senseless. 

Newt propped himself up on his forearms as he watched Jacob kneel between his legs, readying himself with a spit-slicked hand, and licked his lips. “Are you ready?” Jacob asked in a low voice, and Newt nodded enthusiastically. 

With a grunt, Jacob pushed the tip of his cock into Newt’s hole, and Newt gasped sharply, tensing up involuntarily. It was so hot and so thick, he was dying for more but he didn’t know how he could take it. The aching need inside him was replaced with a mixture of wonderful fullness and burning pain, but somehow it still felt good.

“How’re you doing, buddy?” Jacob asked, his hips twitching slightly. He must want to move, to fuck Newt deeper and harder and rougher, but he was holding still for Newt’s sake. “You gotta relax, okay? It’ll feel better if you relax.”

Newt nodded and took a deep, shaky breath. “I’m fine. I’m just… adjusting.” He exhaled slowly and closed his eyes, letting the tension slowly leave his body. Jacob had been right, the pain was fading already and making way for intense pleasure as Jacob pressed further inside him. “Ah! Yes!” he moaned as he tried to push himself down onto Jacob’s cock. “Move, please move… I need it…” 

Jacob laughed breathlessly and leant in to kiss Newt’s neck. “I need you, baby. So damn bad…” 

And then he was thrusting and Newt was moaning with every movement, his head thrown back, in pure abandon. Jacob’s hand was in his hair and gripping tight, he wasn’t making quite as much noise as Newt was, but Newt could hear his stifled groans and wanted more. So he wrapped his legs around Jacob’s middle and pulled him in until the entire length of his cock was buried inside Newt, and that certainly got a reaction from him. Jacob swore loudly and thrust into him with a surprising amount of force, creating an intoxicating mix of pleasure and pain. Without even realising he was doing it, one of Newt’s hands was between his legs and he was roughly rubbing his clit, his breath coming in sharp, deep gasps growing louder and louder as he felt the pressure building inside him. 

“Newt, buddy, I don’t know how much longer I can - fuck - last here,” Jacob groaned, and if Newt hadn’t already been close, just hearing those words leave Jacob’s mouth would have brought him near to the edge. 

“Yes, ah! Jacob, yes,” Newt gasped, his own movements becoming more and more erratic. This seemed to be too much for Jacob, as it only took a few more seconds for him to let out a strangled cry and release inside Newt. His face was the most beautiful thing that Newt had ever seen, and when Jacob’s body relaxed, Newt was immediately pulling him in for a deep kiss. He was beautiful in the aftermath too, with messy hair, a flushed face and a blissful smile which Newt was delighted to have helped cause. Yet no matter how pleased he was to see his lover satiated, he still whimpered at the loss of the thickness inside him and the steady rhythm of Jacob’s hips. But for Jacob, he would endure. He even removed his hand from between his legs to hold Jacob close, and tried to ignore the throbbing neediness that remained. 

“Was I alright?” he asked nervously, his hand coming to rest on Jacob’s chest as he moved to lie beside him.

“You were  _ amazing _ , Newt,” Jacob assured him, his breathing still deep and heavy. “But wait, hang on a second… Did you come?”

“I… No. I was close but you, ah, finished before I got there,” he confessed. Was that a failing on his part or did was this something that simply happened sometimes? “You were wonderful, I thoroughly enjoyed it, I just… I needed a bit more time. N-not that I’m critiquing you! As I said, you were wonderful.”

Jacob gave him a soft smile and cupped his face in one hand, then kissed him softly. “Buddy, it’s fine. It’s not that common for two people to come at exactly the same time. But I’ll still take care of you, don’t you worry.” 

Newt bit back a moan but couldn’t stop himself shifting his hips as his body responded to Jacob’s words. He had hoped Jacob would not notice just how eager he was, but when Jacob laughed softly, he knew he had been caught. But he didn’t seem to mind, thank goodness.

“Come here, gorgeous. I want to make you come too,” Jacob growled, and a shiver ran through Newt’s body, pooling low in his stomach. 

“Oh, please, Jacob. I want your fingers inside me, I want you to fuck me with them,” Newt begged, so far past the point of shame that it didn’t matter what he said anymore. 

“Fuck, Newt… You’re so goddamn hot,” he groaned as he sat up and pulled Newt against his chest and kissed his neck. Newt hummed happily and leant back against him, his head on Jacob’s shoulder. It turned out that having his neck kissed was unexpectedly wonderful, although part of his enjoyment came from the anticipation of what was coming. Or rather, who would soon be coming.

When he touched himself, he usually started with a single finger. But Jacob had stretched him already, he was slick with his own juices and Jacob’s cum, and knew one wouldn’t be enough. “Fuck me now, please Jacob… Just put them all in, I want it, please…” he whined, his hips already twitching with anticipation. And Jacob didn’t leave him waiting. He kept kissing Newt’s neck as he pushed three fingers inside him at once, and Newt’s eyes shot open with a gasp. Then Jacob’s fingers were moving, pumping in and out of him, and Newt felt the pleasure building within him again as he rocked his hips in time with Jacob’s movements. His own fingers were back on his clit, shamelessly rubbing himself to the sensation of Jacob’s fingers inside him, pushing his own cum back inside. 

“How does it feel?” Jacob asked in a low voice, and Newt moaned and nodded his head emphatically in response. 

“So good, don’t stop…” Jacob’s fingers were thicker than his own, the perfect size to fill him comfortably, even better than he had imagined. But then Jacob’s other hand was pushing his out of the way and rubbing his clit for him, a little more gently than Newt had done for himself, but so well that he was gasping and moaning in seconds. Jacob knew what he was doing, and doing it so well that Newt was practically melting under his touches. 

As Newt’s breathing sped up and his moans grew heavier, Jacob started to move faster, as if he could read Newt’s mind and see how close he was coming to his climax. “Jacob, Jacob, Jacob,” he gasped, his voice going up in pitch, his toes curling, the desperate feeling inside of him growing and growing until he couldn’t handle it anymore, until he was rocking against Jacob with pure, wanton abandon and crying out as his orgasm hit him. He kept moving through each wave of it, the sheer pleasure of it overwhelming him, until he couldn’t take it anymore and collapsed limply against Jacob.

“Wow,” he murmured, his breaths coming in panting gasps as he slowly came back to reality. He had always assumed that sex would be the same as touching himself in terms of pleasure, but it had been so much better. How did anyone ever leave their beds when they could be having sex? Or were their partners simply not as incredible as Jacob was? Because he couldn’t see himself wanting to do anything other than care for his creatures and have sex with Jacob for the rest of his life.

“You liked that?” he asked, and Newt grinned. 

“Oh, very much so,” he replied. He shifted around so that he was sideways across Jacob’s lap and curled up smaller to fit comfortably in Jacob’s arms. 

“Mm, good. Me too.”

“I am quite, ah, sticky, though. Do you happen to have a washcloth?” Newt asked after a moment’s comfortable silence, and Jacob laughed and pressed a kiss to Newt’s temple. 

“Gimme a minute. I don’t want to let go of you yet,” he said, and Newt couldn’t help feeling the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has left lovely comments so far - I know I haven't replied to everyone but I do appreciate each and every one of you (and everyone who leaves kudos too)! Also, writing porn is hard so please let me know whether you liked this and/or how I can improve it because it's not something I've done a lot of before now.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jacob takes the time to relax with Newt in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short but (hopefully) sweet chapter that was originally going to exist at the end of chapter 4, if that chapter hadn't felt too long already.

Jacob held onto Newt for a minute more, tracing the scars on Newt’s back with feather light touches. Each one was probably from a different creature, a different adventure that Newt had survived. Yet there was a twinge of sadness to it when Jacob considered the pain each of them must have caused him to leave such lasting marks.

But he was beautiful, so beautiful, and Jacob could still barely believe that he’d actually just slept with him, and that Newt actually wanted to be with him. And not just that, Newt had been afraid that he wouldn’t be good enough for Jacob. The thought still boggled his mind, Newt was easily the most beautiful man he had ever seen. And he was a man, it was almost surprising how easy it had been for him to accept it. Perhaps it was the fact that he had known Newt before, that he had always known him as a man and fallen in love with him as a man, and even naked, he looked enough like a man for Jacob.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t curious, though. He couldn’t deny that it was weird, and he didn’t understand it, but he had already sacrificed his sanity and his understanding of the world for Newt. But somehow, it was completely worth it.

“Jacob, I really don’t mean to interrupt this, but I am getting quite uncomfortable,” Newt said, lifting up his head to look at Jacob and leaning over to grab his wand. His eyes were beautiful, so very green and lovely, and Jacob suddenly realised that that Newt was looking at him in a similar way to the way he looked at his creatures, with the same level of love and devotion. But then Newt’s eyes were downcast again and a small crease of concentration furrowed his brow, and a bizarre sensation swept over Jacob’s body, leaving his skin feeling abnormally dry and a little raw, but definitely clean.

“Cleansing charm,” Newt explained when Jacob gave him a questioning look. ”I’m not particularly good at them, but in theory, that should have removed most of the sweat and, ah, other residue. I prefer to wash in a more traditional way, though, so I’m not very well-practiced.”

“Huh. Well, I feel like I’m cleaner, so you didn’t do a bad job,” he said, and Newt gave him a small, sweet smiled. Was he really praised so rarely that something as simple as that made him happy? Or was it just that it was Jacob saying it? Either way, Jacob made a mental note to find as many ways as he could of reproducing that smile.

“Oh, thank you, Jacob. It shouldn’t dry out your skin quite this much, but I always struggle with that part. My mother was always far better at charms like this, she used to despair at the state of my household spells.”

“Yeah?” Somehow, Jacob hadn’t considered what it would be like to grow up in a wizard house. Would it have been much different from his own childhood? His own mother had always been fussy about the house and had enlisted his help sometimes to keep things running smoothly for when his father returned home. His grandma too had encouraged him to help, and would even give him a little money as a reward if he did a good job. Would wizards bother with things like that if there were charms to let you handle everything?

“Mm. She was convinced I’d be hopeless at taking care of myself, and that I’d never find a husband if I didn’t improve.”

“Was this when you were a girl, then? Or are wizards more… open to that kind of thing?” Jacob asked hesitantly. Just the thought of his own mother knowing even the tiniest bit about his interest in men made him feel uneasy, and the idea that Newt’s mum could not only know but actively want Newt to be with a man was so strange to him.

“A bit of both, really. I knew I didn’t want to be a girl for most of my life, and I started my transformation just before I turned fourteen. Although she still kept on calling me her daughter for quite some time after, and expected me to grow out of it and become a proper woman.” Newt’s tone was casual, but Jacob didn’t have to be a mind reader to see that this particular fact still bothered Newt a little bit.

“Does she call you her son now, though?”

“Usually, although she doesn’t seem exactly happy about it. But at this point, it would be strange not to, when I look like this and almost everyone else treats me like a man. And I think Theseus may have had a word with her, so she keeps her complaints to herself. He was good about it from the start, actually. I told him before I told anyone else, and he was rather good about it. Most people weren’t, but he was very good to me. He even tried to switch to calling me Newt the same day, when I didn’t look even slightly male.”

“Wait, so you weren’t always called Newt?” Somehow, the thought was strange to him, but it made a kind of sense. While Newt was a weird name as it was, it did seem more like a man’s name than a woman’s. “What were you called before?”

“Artemis. I did keep it as a middle name, even though it is technically a girl’s name.”

“Artemis Scamander,” Jacob said, and Newt wrinkled his nose.

“Oh, don’t,” he groaned, and Jacob leant in to kiss him on the tip of the nose, then again on the lips. Even when he looked irritated, he was so cute. But apparently, his irritation couldn’t last long, as Newt wasn’t able to keep his annoyed expression while Jacob was kissing him.

“I think I like Newt better, though,” Jacob told him, and Newt’s smile widened in the most heart-melting way. Well, if he hadn’t already known it, just looking at Newt’s smile was proof that he was well and truly in love.

“Mm. Me too,” Newt agreed, and leant in for another kiss.

With each kiss, Newt seemed to be getting more confident, kissing him deeper and harder and with less and less fear each time. His hand was in Jacob’s hair and his eyes were closed, and his lips were so plump and soft. Perhaps they were a remnant of femininity, or perhaps they were just simply lovely, it didn’t matter. All Jacob knew was that he adored them, he wanted to kiss them, and - to a lesser extent in that particular moment, given the satiating effect of his earlier orgasm - that they would look spectacular wrapped around his cock.

“You’re gorgeous,” Jacob murmured when they pulled apart, his hand lingering on Newt’s cheek. If this could be the rest of their lives, just talking and kissing and touching each other, he would be a very happy man.

“I could say the same about you,” Newt said softly, looking up at Jacob through his lashes. Did he know how truly stunning he looked like that, a stunning mixture of shy and alluring? Did he try to be this wonderful, or was it simply nature?

But while he was gorgeous, he also appeared to be shivering slightly, and Jacob too realised how cold the room felt now that they had been still and unclothed for so long. “Hey, do you want to get dressed?” he asked, although Newt was still quite warm to the touch.

“I… I do like being naked with you, surprisingly. I mean, ah, n-not that I’m surprised I enjoy it with you, I’m- I’m surprised I enjoy it at all, I don’t- I wouldn’t usually like to be naked alone and-” Newt stammered, hiding his face in his hands. But Jacob just hugged him closer and kissed his head.

“Baby, it’s fine. I know what you mean. If you’re cold, we can get dressed again. But I promise you can have me naked again later if that’s what you want,” he added with a wink, and Newt laughed.

“I think I’ll take you up on that,” Newt agreed with a smile that lit up his eyes, those beautiful green eyes that he seemed to hide from the world by keeping them cast down towards the floor. All the more reason for Jacob to feel blessed that he got to see them.

Newt must have seen something of his thoughts on his face, as he leant in and pecked Jacob’s lips again, but this time when he pulled away he got to his feet and started to redress, grabbing his wand and holding it in his mouth. It was strange, just watching Newt go about the most simple of tasks could fill him with such affection. He was almost forgetting about dressing himself, he was so enamoured with Newt.

But when Newt caught sight of his reflection in the mirror midway through redressing, the wand dropped out of his mouth and he flushed brightly. “I- You... O-oh, that’s, ah… Wow.“ he stammered, his fingertips brushing the bright red marks Jacob had left against his neck, now slightly disguised by the flush on his skin but still incredibly obvious.

Jacob couldn’t stop himself grinning. “Think I mighta got a bit carried away there.”

“Oh, but I like it,” Newt said with a slow smile spreading across his face as he caressed the marks on his own neck. “I could heal it if I didn’t, but I think I’ll keep it, for a while at least.”

Just in case Jacob had forgotten that Newt was not only adorable but also incredibly, devastatingly sexy, here he was, loving and touching the marks that he, Jacob, had left on him. He had never thought of himself as a possessive lover, but there was something about this that felt so incredibly right. Except, it wasn’t even possessiveness, it was simply a desire to show Newt and the rest of the world just how in love he was.

Eventually, Newt moved on from admiring his own neck to finish dressing, and Jacob finally managed to stop staring. He disappeared for a moment, sticking his head into his case and using his wand to pull out an old grey and yellow scarf, which he wrapped around his neck to hide the love bites. Queenie would still know, but at least they could keep it from the rest of the world. Not that he was ashamed. It was simply safest that way, and he had a feeling Newt would be a little embarrassed to be caught with those marks all over his neck. But then again, Newt seemed to be embarrassed pretty easily.

Once he was dressed, Jacob wrapped his arms around Newt and kissed his jaw. “You got any plans for today? Cause if you don’t, I was thinking… Maybe we could go to the movies together?”

“The what? Is that an American thing or a muggle thing?” Newt asked with the most adorable expression of confusion on his face.

“You guys don’t have movies? Seriously?”

“I really don’t know if we have them, since I don’t actually know what they are.”

How do you even explain movies? Particularly to someone from what seemed like an entirely different world. “They’re like… You guys have theatre, right?”

“Yes, we do. English muggles and wizards both do.” Okay, that was something. He could work with that.

“So movies are like a play, except the people are on a screen. Like, they take pictures of them? And the pictures move, and some of the new ones even have sound, so it’s just like going to the theatre.”

“Am I right in thinking that muggle pictures don’t normally move?” Newt asked hesitantly, and Jacob stared at him.

“What, and magic ones do?”

“Oh, yes. Our photographs move, and paintings of people can both move and speak. But you muggles have made your own moving photographs without magic?” Newt’s eyes were alight and a wide smile had broken across his face.

“Well, they’re not really photographs, but close enough. I don’t actually know how they do it, but it is pretty fantastic.”

“I’d like to go to see the movies with you,” Newt beamed, and Jacob leant up to kiss him.

“We’re home, please be decent,” came a voice from the hallway, and Newt jumped back, tripped over his own suitcase, and fell against the mirror with a crash. It was almost funny, if only based on how alarmed Newt looked, and Jacob had to stifle a laugh.

He offered his arm to a fiercely blushing Newt and pulled him up to his feet. “You okay, buddy?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” he mumbled, ducking his head to hide behind his hair. “Just quietly dying, that’s all.”

This time, Jacob couldn’t help laughing. “Come on, let’s go greet the ladies before they start thinking we’re up to something dirty.” He tapped Newt’s ass as he walked past, leaving him standing rooted to the spot with a beautifully scarlet face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If everything actually goes to plan (which is not guaranteed), this should be roughly the halfway point with four more chapters to go! Tune in next update for sisterly teasing and advice, and date preparations that go about as well as you would expect.
> 
> ETA: don't ask a trans person about their deadname, kids. And if you do know it for any reason, don't use it. Jacob doesn't know any better here, but it's still not a cool thing to do.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sisterly teasing, legilimency, and a whole lot of giggling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you ever write something and find your characters just won't behave? That's what I'm finding here, hence the delay in uploading and the fact that I'm posting at 2AM, having spent the past five hours trying to get them to do as they're told and get from Point A to Point B. Again, it's a bit of a short one, but I'd rather actually progress the story than try and get this particular chapter to include everything I'd originally planned for it. Instead, you'll hopefully be getting another long one next.

The trouble with trying not to think about something is that it always brings it to the front of your mind. So when Jacob met the two women in the living room, his brain chose that moment to fill with images of just how pretty Newt had looked underneath him, and no amount of willing them away could make them disappear. Queenie stifled a giggle behind her hand, and Jacob found himself wishing that the ground would swallow him up. He had never been particularly shy or prudish when it came to talking about sex, but the fact that it was Queenie, and that the person he was thinking about was Newt made it far more embarrassing. Not to mention, there is a big difference between sharing something voluntarily and having someone pick it straight out of your brain. 

“Do I wanna know?” Tina asked, her expression somewhere between amused and exasperated.

“Not really,” Jacob told her with an embarrassed little smile. Think of something else, anything else… But no matter what he tried, snapshots of their supposedly private encounter and the endless realm of possible future activities kept popping into his head. To her credit, Queenie seemed to be really trying to keep a straight face and not react, and he sent her an apologetic little smile. She probably had to deal with this kind of thing a lot. Was it better from friends than strangers? Or did the fact that she knew both of them add a whole new dimension of awkwardness to the whole thing? She was probably able to take it all in her stride by now, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t sorry. She was a lady after all, and she hadn’t asked to see anything dirty, even if she didn’t mind it. But all the same, they’d both benefit if he could just think of something else. 

But of course, that was the very moment Newt chose to emerge, red-faced and messy haired, and he looked so gorgeous that any hope Jacob had of steering his mind towards any thoughts that didn’t involve Newt went up in flames. 

Queenie took one look at the pair of them, and this time she couldn’t hold back the giggle. Jacob couldn’t help wondering what she was seeing in Newt’s mind, but there was no way he would ask him what he was thinking in front of Tina. She was the only one left who didn’t know the very intimate details, and he wanted to keep it that way. 

“Oh, Merlin…” Newt mumbled, his eyes closing. “I hate legilimency.” Probably something either sexual or sappy, then. Jacob couldn’t help smiling at that thought. Newt, beautiful, wonderful Newt, was thinking about him in a way that could make Queenie giggle. How did he get so lucky?

“If it helps, honey, I’m trying not to look. Not even at the really good parts,” Queenie assured him, leaning up to kiss him on the flaming cheek. “Seems like you had a good time, huh?”

“Definitely don’t wanna know,” Tina said with a shake of her head. 

“Liar,” Queenie teased, and it was TIna’s turn to look abashed. 

“Are you quite finished?” Newt asked with a nervous indignance. “I’m sorry, but I’d rather not be surrounded by people imagining me naked, if that’s at all possible.”

“I don’t need to imagine, buddy,” Jacob replied with a smirk, and Newt’s blush became even more pronounced. It was a gorgeous blush, one which Jacob now knew faded down onto his beautiful, freckled chest, a chest with a little more muscle than his clothes showed, but which didn’t disrupt his wonderfully lean form. It made sense that Newt had used magic to get this body, he was so damn gorgeous it was unreal. 

“Technically, Teenie’s the only one imagining,” Queenie added, and giggled at the looks on Newt and Tina’s faces. Jacob, too, had to fight back a laugh. But instead, he pulled Newt down by the scarf and kissed him on the lips. Newt let out a little squeak of surprise, but moments later his hands were on Jacob’s waist and he was kissing him back as if no one was watching. So much so that Jacob had to pull back first.

Tina wolf whistled, then both Goldstein sisters were laughing and both men were red in the face. “Hey Newt, was that a hickey under that scarf?” Tina asked with a smirk, and Newt hid his face in his hands and whined softly in sheer embarrassment.

“Ooh, it’s more than one,” Queenie told her with a wicked grin. “Jacob here really did a number on him.” They both laughed again, and Jacob groaned. Why was he friends with these people again?

“Yeah, yeah, very funny,” he grumbled, but he couldn’t keep up the irritated expression for too long. Perhaps it was better to just laugh than to get too annoyed. He didn’t have any little sisters, but if he did, he imagined they’d act like this. They might wind him up and tease him mercilessly, but they’d always have his back. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t give as good as he got on the teasing front. “You’re just jealous that he’s all mine. I can’t blame you, who in their right mind wouldn’t want a piece of that ass?”

“Jacob…“ Newt whined, leaning into Jacob as if he provided some kind of physical shield against his embarrassment. He was so adorable, Jacob couldn’t help grinning. How could someone so precious, so beautiful, be his lover? It really did feel like a dream. But he didn’t think he could have ever dreamt these details, not when Newt was so full of surprises. He didn’t have the brains to imagine a Newt Scamander that was any more incredible than the real one.

“Yeah, buddy?” he said in his most innocent voice, but he couldn’t stop himself grinning. There was some fun in teasing Newt, so much so that it was almost worth embarrassing himself too.

“You’re awful.”

Jacob snorted a laugh at that. “Ah, you love me.”

“Aww… Oh, Jacob, you have  _ no _ idea,” Queenie cooed, and Newt groaned as Tina giggled.

“Am I going to have to start attempting permanent occlumency?” What the hell was that?

“It’s a way of closing your mind so no one can see what you’re thinking,” Queenie explained, evidently having heard his question in his mind. Now that sounded extremely useful. He could definitely do with learning how to do that, if he was going to be fucking Newt and hanging around with Queenie. “And Newt really isn’t that good at it. Sorry, Newt.”

“I’m not that bad, am I?” he asked, lifting his head to frown at her.

“Honey, you tried to hide that you’re- You tried to hide certain things as soon as you found out what I can do, and it really didn’t work.”

“I feel like I’m missing something here,” Tina said, and Newt swallowed nervously. Poor kid seemed to be panicking all over again, probably wondering what Tina would think if she knew about him. Jacob pulled him against his side and squeezed gently in the hope of conveying some kind of reassurance to him. Tina was a modern kind of girl and he couldn’t ever see her hating Newt or upsetting him on purpose. Although it was hard to imagine anyone who wasn’t pure evil purposefully upsetting someone so wonderful as Newt.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jacob assured her in a calm, confident voice. “It’s just…” His voice and his confidence trailed off, not quite sure how to describe Newt’s… situation without outright lying or giving it away entirely. In fact, he wasn’t even sure what words were the right ones to describe it if he was going to tell Tina. How had Newt even put it earlier? He used to be a girl? He wasn’t all male, even though he wanted to be? Something like that, anyway. But it barely made sense to Jacob, so how could he possibly find a tactful way to explain it to someone else.

“Nothing that either of us need to know about,” Queenie finished for him. 

“You know that makes me more curious, right?”

“It’s really nothing, Tina. Well, not  _ nothing _ , it’s obviously something, and it is, ah, quite an important something, but not something that anyone except- N-not that I don’t trust you! I-I mean… It’s not nothing but it’s also not anything to worry about, even if I do occasionally- But it’s fine! It’s honestly fine,” Newt blabbered. He seemed to be fidgeting slightly with nervous energy, and Jacob so badly wanted to pull him in, kiss him and hold him and tell him it was all okay and he didn’t have to do or say anything he didn’t want to. But he wasn’t sure he should in front of the Goldsteins and Newt was no mind reader, so this message went unheard by all except Queenie, who gave him the briefest of smiles.

“Okay,” Tina said slowly, but she definitely didn’t seem convinced. She looked worried now, but Jacob couldn’t blame her. Yes, Newt was generally awkward and slipped into stammering and babbling at the slightest provocation, but the sheer panic that had appeared in his eyes would worry anyone. Particularly if that someone cared about him, was trained as an auror, and had spent all her life in close contact with a mind reader. Even in the short time he had known Queenie Goldstein, his own sense of privacy and secrets had already irreparably changed. 

Newt was saved the anguish of further loaded conversation by a crash from inside the bedroom, making all of them jump. “Please tell me none of your creatures are loose in my apartment,” Tina groaned, her head tilted back as if she were praying for sanity.

“I can’t guarantee it.”

Of course not. They all knew that many of Newt’s creatures - while they adored him - seemed hell-bent on causing as much mayhem as they could manage, and while many were content to remain in their carefully crafted habitats, there were others - a certain niffler which Jacob definitely did not have a soft spot for, for instance - who seemed to think it was their God-given right to break out as much as possible. 

Newt motioned for them all to be quiet, then started to creep towards the door. It was incredible, the way his awkward and shy demeanour disappeared completely when he was faced with a task like this. When it came to his creatures, Newt was so much more confident than he had ever seemed around another human. And while he did find that awkwardness endearing and strangely attractive, Jacob couldn’t help wondering how he could bring that confidence out a little more. If Newt’s insistence that he wasn’t good enough from earlier that morning was anything to go by, he really needed it. 

With a flourish, Newt pulled the door open just in time to see the little furry backside of Walter the niffler wriggling his way through the impossibly small gap between window and windowsill and out into the streets below. 

“Oh, no you don’t, you little menace,” Newt muttered and turned on the spot, then disappeared into nothingness. A moment later, he burst through the doors below out on the street and rushed off in pursuit of the niffler. 

“Sweet Mercy Lewis, I hate that thing,” Tina sighed, grabbed her wand and set off at a run towards the stairs. Queenie winked at Jacob and mirrored her sister, leaving him to bring up the rear. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A niffler escape, a minor mishap, and an honest discussion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this update wasn't posted over the weekend like I promised, but I have been feeling a little ill this past couple of days, and that slowed me down a little. Thank you for your patience with me and for all the kudos and lovely comments that have been left on previous chapters!

Of course, it would be the niffler making yet another bid for temporary freedom. It wasn’t even that the little bugger wanted rid of him, no. He was perfectly happy to live in Newt’s suitcase and would never want to leave him for good, but he was simply all too aware of the treasures that existed beyond its confines, ripe for the pilfering. And he was getting awfully good at prying open the already faulty latch to wriggle free.

If Newt could just get him to a secluded area where he could perform magic without risk of any muggles seeing, he could summon Walter right into his hands - provided the niffler wasn’t given enough time to grab onto something first. But in the middle of New York, no niffler in its right mind would head for anywhere of the sort. 

Newt cursed internally as he pushed his way through the crowds of people, trying not to wince at the sensation of so many bodies brushing past him while muttering haphazard apologies. New York seemed very much like a place which was simply not large enough to have room for all its inhabitants. But perhaps he only thought that because he had grown up in the countryside, and even when he had moved to London, he was far enough away from the busiest streets to feel comfortable. 

Here, however, Newt felt anything but. Even after having been in the country for a couple of weeks now, Newt had still not yet adjusted to everything. New Yorkers were so very loud and many seemed to have no concept of personal space. Just the other day, an otherwise lovely woman who had looked to be approaching eighty had seized him and kissed him on the cheek after just a minute of awkward conversation in which she had decided that he reminded her of her grandson, and been held hostage by a couple who had never heard an English accent before and had begged him to practically recite the dictionary for a good five minutes before Tina had taken pity on him and helped him to escape. 

This time, though, he didn’t have time to even glance at the muggles around him. He had a niffler to find, preferably before any major damage was done. 

A blur of black fur caught his eye off to his right. He spun rapidly on the spot to chase after it, and promptly collided with a man in a posh suit. “Terribly sorry,” Newt mumbled, but before the man even had a chance to speak, Newt was off in pursuit of his niffler, leaving a very stunned gentleman in his wake. The little bugger had found a small cafe at the side of the street, and already had his greedy little paws in the handbag of some poor unsuspecting woman sat outside with a newspaper. “Oh, no you don’t,” Newt hissed as he made a beeline for the tables. But Walter was already moving on, pilfering from the jacket a man had hung over the back of his chair.

He caught Newt’s eye and froze, a silver cigarette case halfway into his pouch. A more naive wizard might think that being caught red-handed (or red-pawed) would be enough to discourage such behaviour, but any wizard who thought that had clearly never met Walter. Getting caught just meant that he needed to change locations, and that was precisely what he was about to do. Newt probably had seconds to catch him before he vanished again.

Throwing caution to the winds, Newt made a dive for the spot behind the table, drawing stares and shocked gasps from the muggles all around him. But he was a second too late. “Dropped my, um, my ring,” he invented wildly as he scrambled back to his feet. “Sorry, so sorry… I’ll be off now.” And he set off in pursuit yet again, leaving a crowd of very confused onlookers to stare after him. 

In the chaos, Tina reached his side and jogged alongside him. “The hell was that?” she asked through gasping attempts to catch her breath.

“Walter was stealing that man’s cigarette case,” Newt replied as he scanned the surrounding area for that damn niffler. In the chaos, he had completely lost sight of the little bugger. No doubt he was attempting to rob someone else blind, but who?

“He- Mercy Lewis, Newt, he’s stealing from no-majes?”

“Well, he’ll take anything shiny. It doesn’t really matter to him who owns it.”

Tina placed her fingers to her temples and sighed deeply. “By Morgana, that thing is a menace. If Queenie’s been listening, she’ll be doing a little sneaky obliviating, but you- you can’t just… just  _ have _ these creatures if you can’t contain them.”

“I believe we’ve already had this discussion,” Newt said distractedly as he craned his neck in the hopes of spotting another blur of black fur streaking towards a new target. 

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure we have, but your damn creatures keep getting out!” she hissed. 

“It’s mainly Walter that goes missing, and he’s not dangerous. He’s just adventurous.”

Tina snorted a laugh. “Newt, he’s stealing from- Oh, I think that’s him!” she gasped and rushed off in the direction she had indicated, Newt hot on her heels. When he saw where he was heading, he cursed under his breath and sped up past Tina. “You are in so much trouble,” he hissed as he weaved through the crowd towards the little menace, and the jewellery shop he was heading towards. Ever since Walter had first discovered the joys of entire buildings filled with shiny gems and metals, he had harboured a particular fondness for such establishments, a fondness which he expressed in repeated heist attempts. 

“You go left, I’ll go right, just don’t let him get inside,” Newt said in an undertone, and Tina nodded. She slipped through the crowd with the practiced ease of a professional auror, and the light, silent steps of a woman who had plenty of experience in niffler wrangling. Newt was moving similarly quietly, although he had yet to master the art of blending into a crowd quite the same way as Tina had. He didn’t know what it was about him, but he always felt as though he stood out like a pixie in a snowstorm, and not just because of the vivid colours of his hair and clothes. But for once, that was a sort of advantage. If he could distract the niffler into freezing again to think of another plan, Tina could grab the little bugger and put an end to his little excursion.

Newt caught Walter’s eye and gave him an exasperated look as he approached. Of course, the niffler then tried to turn around and run in the opposite direction. But when Tina bent down to grab him, the furry menace slipped through her fingers and between her legs, away from the pair of them. “Fuck,” she growled, straightening back up and whirling around to follow after him, only to see Jacob, clutching a stitch in his side with one hand and a wriggling niffler in the other. 

“Queenie’s idea,” he said with the crooked smile that always made Newt’s heart melt. If they hadn’t been in a very public place, Newt would have kissed him there and then. “She heard your plan and thought you could do with some back up.”

“Back up was definitely appreciated,” Newt agreed as he strode over to Jacob’s side. Somehow, Walter seemed to have already grown sick of struggling and was dangling from Jacob’s grip, looking rather put-out. “Come on, you little menace. Let’s see what you’ve pilfered this time.”

He dragged Jacob into a secluded alleyway, took the niffler, and turned him upside down to shake and tickle his bounty free. Fortunately, there were only a few coins, a necklace and a cigarette case in his pouch, and he had been caught in under thirty minutes, so Newt counted the whole ordeal as a victory for Team Scamander. If he was keeping score, which he most definitely was not, that made it 37-35 to Team Niffler. He was catching up. But he wasn’t counting, and he definitely wasn’t about to admit that the scores were that high, particularly not around Tina. She may have enough patience to deal with him and enough kindness not to arrest him, but he had no reason to test her limits by revealing just how often Walter had gone off adventuring.

Now that they were alone, Newt dared to steal a quick kiss, and beamed at the adorable expression of surprise on Jacob’s sweet face. 

“What was that for?”

“Partly because you caught Walter, but mostly because I wanted to,” Newt said softly. It was still hard to believe that he could simply kiss Jacob, not quite whenever he wanted, but still every day. And that was more than he had ever dared to hope for. 

His happiness, unfortunately, did not last. Just as he was picking up the niffler’s loot and wondering if they could head straight off to their date, he heard voices from just outside the alleyway. “I’m sorry, officer, I just don’t know a thing,” Tina was saying in what was surely a deliberately carrying voice. 

“Stay here with Walter,” Newt murmured, handing the niffler back over to a very confused Jacob. 

“Newt, what-?”

“I don’t want the muggles finding him. They shouldn’t know you’re here, so you should both be fine,” Newt promised in an undertone, then stepped out into the main street before Jacob could protest. 

“Is there a problem, officer?” Newt asked politely, focusing his eyes on a point just below the man’s chin rather than meeting his eyes. From his brief glance at the man’s face, he could see a strong jawline with a day’s worth of stubble, and dark eyes, the same shade as Jacob’s but which had none of the warmth of his lover’s.

“Detective Castellanos, NYPD. We’ve had reports of a commotion at a cafe on Thirty-Second involving tall, British guy with red hair and a very valuable missing necklace, belonging to a very important lady. Seems to me that you fit the description of the man involved pretty well.”

Tina made a small sound as if to start speaking, but Queenie put her hand on her sister’s arm. “Officer, we don’t-”

“I’m going to have to search you, sir,” the policeman continued, and Newt’s eyes widened. While he hadn’t technically stolen the necklace himself, there had been a necklace in Walter’s pouch, which Newt now had stuffed in his trouser pocket. He glanced up at Queenie and trusted her to understand his predicament. She shook her head fondly and slipped her wand out so subtly that Newt would not have noticed if he hadn’t been looking out for the subtle movement. He barely caught her whispered confundus charm, but he could clearly see the glazed look appearing on the officer’s face. 

“Newt!” Tina hissed, narrowing her eyes at him.

“I’ve done nothing, on any count!” he protested as the Detective shook his head slowly, coming back to himself with a dazed expression. Before he could regain his bearings, Newt slipped the loot out of his pocket and into one in Queenie’s coat. She could have Jacob hand them in later, he would easily pass as a concerned citizen who had nothing to do with the whole affair, and then everything would be fine. She nodded minutely, and he took that to mean that she had understood. It seemed that the more time she spent around him, the more of his thoughts she managed to understand. She still struggled sometimes, but particularly if he tried to be clear, she usually got the gist of things. Which could be either a blessing or a curse, depending on the situation. In this instance, he had to be thankful for legilimency. 

“Alright, sir. I… What was I saying?”

“You were saying this man here doesn’t have any evidence on him to suggest he’s stolen some necklace. My friend here clearly hasn’t done anything, he hasn’t got it and he didn’t know what you were talking about either,” Tina told him in her most confident, businesslike tone.

“But… He fits the description,” the man said slowly. “I think I need to take him in for questioning.” He nodded, seeming to grow more sure of himself. “Yeah. Sir, I’m going to need you to come with me.”

“I… Alright,” Newt mumbled. Was there any choice at this point, short of obliviating the man entirely? And it wasn’t like he had seen a hint of magic, he simply thought that Newt was simply a muggle pickpocket. Or, as the situation suggested, a terrible muggle pickpocket. What kind of pickpocket would practically dive under a table to steal a necklace? If he had wanted to steal, he would have liked to think that he would be a little better at it than the police officer was giving him credit for.

As it turned out, being interrogated by muggle legal departments was nicer than being interrogated by MACUSA. Although considering his primary interrogator had actually been an incredibly dark wizard in that particular case, any other interrogations would probably be significantly more pleasant. 

The only disadvantage was the clear need for him to act normally. He knew full well that he was abnormal for a wizard, and to a muggle, he must be downright bizarre. While Jacob might see his oddness as eccentric charm, he knew well enough that other muggles, particularly those in law enforcement, would not be quite so kind. So he tried his best to answer each and every question as a clueless, bumbling muggle might. 

After what felt like hours of exhausting acting, his plan finally came to fruition. A woman appeared in the doorway, dressed in an elegant dress and with neat curls that reminded Newt of Queenie’s. “Detective Castellanos, sir. A man just came in with a necklace that matches the description of the lost one, saying he found it on the street down on Forty-Seventh. Detective Joseph thinks the thief mighta dropped it when he heard we were after him, and planned to pick it up later.”

“Forty-Seventh?” Detective Castellanos repeated. “But that’s nowhere near where we picked up this guy.”

“That’s because I didn’t do it,” Newt explained with only a pinch of irritation. “May I go, now? You have the necklace and no reason other than my accent and hair colour to say that I was in any way involved.”

The detective seemed to think for a moment. “Alright. Myra, escort Mr Scamander out of the building and bring in the man who found the necklace. I want to take a statement.”

“Yes, sir,” Myra agreed with a nod. “Mr Scamander, if you please?”

Relieved, Newt got to his feet a little too quickly and ended up nearly knocking over his chair. He flushed faintly, but Julie gave him a reassuring smile. She was infinitely preferable company to the surly detective who had been so convinced of his guilt.

“He give you a hard time?” Myra asked as she walked Newt out into the corridor.

“Well, he did think have some reason to think I was guilty. But it has rather ruined my plans for the day, so I’m not exactly pleased. I mean, I don’t resent him for doing his job but I’m no jewellery thief, even if appearance or demeanor isn’t necessarily an indication.” He realised he was starting to babble and cut himself off abruptly. Why did he always do this? The balance between talking too much and not enough was such a hard line to locate. But Julie didn’t seem annoyed. In fact, she giggled and gave him a small smile.

“Are all you Brits like this?” 

“Like what?” he asked in complete confusion.

“Adorably awkward.”

Was that a compliment? He wasn’t entirely sure. But it sounded like the type of thing Jacob might say of him, so he felt that he could assume that it was. “Oh. Thank you.”

She giggled again. “Hey, listen. Since you’re not a criminal, why don’t you let me give you a tour of New York later on? It’s a real nice city.”

“Oh, I know. I’ve actually been here for a while, staying with some friends of mine. I’m fairly certain I’ve worked out my way around now. Thank you for the offer, though,” he added. How terribly kind of her to offer to show him around!

“You sure? I could show you some really nice restaurants, or we could go for a walk in the park… And then maybe you could come back to mine?”

It was then that it finally hit him. There was a reason that all these things she was saying sounded like things that Jacob would say. She was flirting with him. He promptly turned pink, his eyes widening in surprise. “Oh… Oh, no, I’m- Not that you’re not lovely, from what I’ve seen, I just… I’m in a relationship,” he stammered. Just saying it filled him with a wonderful happy feeling, and he couldn't prevent a soft smile spreading across his face.

“Is she in New York with you? Because if she’s not, she doesn’t have to know.”

“I’m not- I’m- No. Thank you, Miss…?”

“Kidman.”

“Miss Kidman. I’m very happy with my- my current sweetheart.” He may not know a lot about muggles, but he knew that they were even less likely to be alright with the fact that his lover was male than a wizard might be.

Her face fell and she spent the rest of the walk to the door in silence. Newt couldn’t help feeling bad. He might not always be good at understanding people, but he didn’t like to hurt people’s feelings. Should he have said something different, found a way to say no in a nicer way? Or should he have simply gone with her and found a way to let her down gently later on? How were you supposed to handle a situation like this, anyway?

Once outside, Newt quickly found another deserted alleyway between two tall buildings to disapparate, and promptly appeared in the middle of the Goldsteins’ living room. To his right, Tina was sat at the dining table poring over some official looking documents with a quill in her hand and her wand behind her ear. She looked up at the sound of his arrival and gave him a look that was equal parts fond and exasperated. “You gotta stop doing this if you don’t want me arresting you, y’know.”

“As I have been saying for most of the day, I didn’t do anything.”

“You let that damn niffler get out  _ again _ .”

“I wouldn’t say I let him. I just failed to stop him. And it isn’t really his fault, it’s his nature.”

“Yeah, well if I were you I’d have him on a leash by now.”

“I can’t just tie him up!” Newt said, affronted by the mere suggestion. It simply wouldn’t be fair to enforce such a degree of captivity. “We just need to work on his training.”

“Training-? Newt, how many times does this have to happen before you try something else?”

“He is learning. He only escapes when he feels ignored these days.” And it wasn’t really Walter’s fault. He was needy and mischievous, yes, and he exasperated Newt no end, but he couldn’t help loving the furry little menace. And it wasn’t as if the poor thing had ever had any other home, or at least not a pleasant one. 

Tina sighed deeply. “Fine. Just please try to keep him under control, alright? Queenie’s playing with him right now, she’s duplicated practically her entire jewellery collection for him.”

“Excellent,” Newt beamed. Queenie would almost certainly be Walter’s favourite now, given his propensity for cupboard love. But that didn’t matter, so long as he was feeling cared for again. Now, as long as nothing too exciting caught his attention, he shouldn’t be too eager to escape again. 

Tina shook her head affectionately, then seemed to hesitate. “Hey, Newt? You remember that conversation we were having, right before the niffler escaped?” she asked slowly, and Newt felt his heart speed up far more than it had at any point during the niffler chase. 

“I do,” he replied, although part of him would have much rather feigned ignorance. While Queenie and Jacob had both responded admirably, that didn’t mean that he was keen to tell more people about the aspects of his past he would rather ignore. 

“Well… You know if anything’s ever bothering you, you can talk to me, right? I know it can be kind of hard to talk to someone who can read your thoughts or someone who you’re sweet on sometimes, so if you ever need someone else, I’m here. But if I don’t know what it is, I don’t think I can help much.”

“Thank you, Tina. It’s just… It’s not something I like talking about. I never have, and it’s become increasingly less necessary as time goes on. I’m mostly fine now, so it’s generally nothing to worry about, at least not for anyone else. But I do appreciate the offer.”

Except it was sometimes a problem, even now. Even with all the changes he had successfully made, even though the physicality of it was no longer a problem, he still had those moments of shame or self-doubt which would perhaps be eased by sharing with a friend. In the past, he had always spoken to Theseus, but now Theseus was on the other side of the ocean and he wasn’t sure he would ever want to ask his brother for advice in any area pertaining to his love life. While Theseus seemingly had no boundaries when it came to that sort of thing, Newt wasn’t especially comfortable with talking about anything like that with him, and Theseus generally respected that choice. Well, he did like to pry and tease somewhat, but all older brothers were like that. Perhaps it would be helpful to have someone outside of his family, a friend, who he could talk to. That would bring his total of confidants up to four, and while he would never have imagined having such a high number before, it did make a sort of sense. A brother, a lover and two friends. Something about that felt right, he couldn’t deny it.

“Actually- May I tell you anyway?” he asked, rocking slightly on the balls of his feet to calm himself. It was fine. It would be fine. He had told people who were much less likely to be kind than Tina, and when he was much younger and had much less life experience. 

“Of course,” Tina agreed, her eyes wide and soft. It was times like this when the similarity between the two sisters truly struck him. The same look had appeared on Queenie’s face many a time. “Here, sit down,” she said, pulling out a chair and tidying up her documents with a flick of her wand.

Reluctantly, he stopped his rocking and slipped into the offered chair. “Well… I never know how to say this. You’d think I would have improved by now,” he added with an attempt at a smile. 

“Oh? So it’s something you’ve been dealing with for a long time?”

“Most, if not all, of my life. Certainly ever since I was a child. But I was thirteen and fourteen when it first became something I needed to share. And- And that was because I wanted- I was... I wasn’t always- like this. I was, in fact, a girl. Or at least everyone thought I was.” He wished she’d interrupt, find some way to guide him through this discussion. But she was just listening, with the same soft expression on her face. So, hesitantly, he continued. “I disagreed, ever since I learned that I could disagree, and perhaps even before that. I used to want to be my brother from an even younger age, but I don’t know how much of that was admiration and how much was me wanting to be a boy. And I know I look like one now, but… I still do get concerned around people sometimes, thinking they’re going to see me as a girl again.”

“You don’t look like one, though.”

“Most of the time, I agree. Sometimes, Occasionally, I still see it though, and it’s like nothing can hide it, no matter how good my transfiguration is.” He couldn’t help being surprised by his own honesty. This was the sort of thing he would hesitate to tell even Theseus, and here he was telling Tina within two minutes of revealing this to her. 

“So that’s what you were thinking when you met Queenie? That’s what you were talking about earlier?”

He nodded mutely and she took his hand, giving it a quick squeeze. The unexpected touch sent an uncomfortable sensation through him, but her intentions were good enough that he didn’t mind. And he was adjusting to some level of physical contact from her. Had he known it was coming, it might even have been pleasant.

“Hey, I have an idea. I’ll tell you, honestly, if I ever think you look like a girl. I won’t try to spare your feelings or anything, I’ll be totally honest. And so long as I don’t say anything, you’ll know no one would ever know you’ve ever been anything but a regular guy.”

It wasn’t anything like the support he’d been offered from Theseus, Queenie or Jacob. Not even Albus Dumbledore, who had offered some of the more practical help when Newt had been at Hogwarts. But it was nice. Reassuring to know Tina would tell him the truth, and that she believed no one would doubt him or call him a girl again. “Thank you,” he murmured, his eyes downcast but a small smile playing about his lips. 

“Any time. And if you ever need anything else, you know where I am. But… Can I ask you a question?”

“I… Yes. I may not want to answer, but you can certainly ask.” He had learnt long ago, when talking to Theseus, that sometimes people would want to ask invasive questions, and he was in fact allowed to decline to answer if such questions bothered him. 

“You said you wanted to be a guy for ages, but how did you know?”

“It’s hard to explain. I just knew I didn’t ever feel quite comfortable, or like myself. And when I tried to imagine myself as a grown woman, I never could.” Even saying it felt strange. The idea of an adult female Newt Scamander was just so very wrong, it was like imagining himself growing into a nundu.

“I think I get it,” Tina said slowly. “Well, I don’t, but that’s kinda the point, right? If I did, I’d be… Like you. Is there a name for this, ah, thing?”

“I’m not sure. I think muggles call it transsexualism, but I’m not sure if that’s right. I’ve never really thought to give it any specific name.”

“Huh. I guess that kind of makes sense.”

It was then that Queenie emerged from her bedroom, cuddling a delighted looking niffler in her arms. He seemed to have an incredibly full pouch, and even had a delightful blue necklace draped around him. She took one look at the pair of them and gave a happy little squeal, then hurried to Newt’s side and pulled him into the hug, nearly crushing Walter between them. “Aw, Newt… That was brave of you, honey.”

“Queenie,” he groaned, his cheeks turning faintly pink. 

“Oh, hush. Let me be proud of you.”

“I didn’t really do anything, I-”

“Hey, I said hush,” Queenie insisted as she straightened up again. “You know, this little guy’s a real sweetie when he wants to be. Aren’t you, baby?” she cooed, tickling the niffler under his bill. “You just want some treats and a bit of attention, don’t you?”

“He’s going to start scamming you for all you’re worth, you know,” Newt told her with an amused little smile. “This is how it starts, every time.”

“Ah, but he’s such a cutie!” 

“Not you too!” Tina groaned, but she was smiling. 

If someone had asked a twelve-year-old Newt to imagine his future, he would never have pictured such a wonderful scene. The only thing that could make it better would be if Jacob would arrive home.

“He shouldn’t be too much longer, sweetie,” Queenie told him, and it was a mark of how much time they had been spending together that he was not overly disconcerted by her reading his mind so casually. “And he’ll be fine. He’s good with people.”

She was right. Jacob would have no trouble, he wouldn’t be nervous or uncomfortable or get himself into some awkward situation. How had that even happened? And as that particular thought crossed his mind, Queenie giggled. “Honey, she thought you were cute!”

“Who?” Tina asked with a wicked grin.

“A girl at the station. She was trying to flirt with our Newt here.”

“Yes, very funny,” Newt said with a roll of his eyes. “I thought she was just being friendly, offering to show me around New York since I’m clearly not from here.”

“And he only realised when he noticed how she was saying things Jacob would say,” Queenie said gleefully.

“It was an easy mistake to make,” he insisted, although he was absolutely certain his cheeks were now aflame. “I’m not exactly used to people flirting with me.”

“Or you just don’t notice it half the time,” Tina replied, and Newt felt his blush deepen.

“You must be joking.”

“Don’t let Jacob hear you say that. He thinks you’re the best-looking guy he’s ever seen, and he’s been wanting you for a long time.”

Newt’s disbelief must have shown on his face, as both Tina and Queenie gave him a stern look.

“Geez, what does he have to do to get you convinced? If those marks under that scarf aren’t proof he’s been dying to get his hands on you, I don’t know what is.”

“He’s got about a hundred other ideas, don’t you worry, Teenie. Our Newt here will have to get it in the end.”

“You know, I do generally prefer to keep my private life private, if that’s at all possible,” Newt said calmly, but his mind was racing. What exactly were these other ideas that Queenie had heard? Were they the sweet and innocent type, like his plan to take Newt to the movies, or was there something a little more carnal in his future? He had to admit, he wasn’t as well versed in all the different methods that people had as he was in the habits of his creatures, but if Jacob was his teacher, he was incredibly eager to learn of all the experiences he was incapable of having alone. He had imagined plenty, although admittedly there were some scenarios which would likely be logistically challenging if he were to try to enact them, but the idea that there might be more that he hadn’t even thought of sent a little thrill of excitement through his body, which settled pleasantly in his lower abdomen. If Jacob had only been there, Newt would have been eager to pull him away and into the bedroom to help him deal with that particular feeling.

“Mercy Lewis, Newt,” Queenie said with a little giggle, and he withdrew from his thoughts sharply with a groan of embarrassment. 

“Oh, please don’t read my mind, particularly when I’m- Well. Having those thoughts.”

“I’ll try. But in my defence, I can’t always help it and I can’t tell when you’re going to have those thoughts before you have them. But if it helps, I can’t usually hear you when you’re in your case.”

“That’s, ah, good to know.” Perhaps they should migrate into sleeping in his case if it meant they had more privacy. He would have to improve on the quality of his bed if he was going to be asking Jacob to sleep there with him.

“You know, it’s times like these I’m really glad I’m not a natural legilimens,” Tina grinned. “I really don’t want to know when you’re having dirty thoughts.”

“Just assume it’s most of the time,” Queenie replied with an equally teasing expression.

“It is not!” Newt insisted indignantly. “That is a complete lie.”

Both of the women laughed, and Newt flushed again. They were both truly awful sometimes. And of course, it didn’t help that he was so prone to blushing. It just seemed to encourage them when he turned scarlet.

“I think I’m going to take Walter down into my case, and see if I can get some work done before Jacob comes home,” Newt decided, getting to his feet and attempting a serious expression. The niffler gave an irritable little squeak as he was passed from Queenie’s arms to Newt’s, and Newt shook his head. “Oh, hush, you. I know Queenie’s been being nice to you, but you need to come back home. Don’t you want to add that lovely jewellery to your treasure pile, hmm?”

This idea seemed to appeal to him, and he allowed Newt to carry him down into the case which they both called home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Newt, you adorable human disaster.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jacob returns home to an eager and loving Newt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I have about as much control of these characters as Newt does of his niffler. I may have been the one to write an entire chapter of mostly porn, but I maintain that it was not technically my fault. This was supposed to have much more plot to it, but I refuse to make this chapter any longer so enjoy this mess.

If Jacob had thought that the afternoon would be over quickly, he had been wrong. Of course, what should have taken ten minutes ended up taking nearly two hours when the cop who was meant to be talking to him got called away and he ended up stuck waiting around for them to come back and bother with him. If only he was a wizard, he could have worked out some spell to make them forget about him and just let him go. But he was a no-maj (‘muggle’, Newt would always inject), and he had no such power. On an ordinary day, it would have been a minor inconvenience. But when he was so eager to be spending time with Newt, their forced separation was pretty damn irritating. 

All he’d wanted to do was take Newt to the movies, but he wasn’t sure anything would ever go to plan around Newt. That was just the way it was, and yet bizarrely, he didn’t mind. It was usually more interesting, certainly. He had met Newt in what was almost a bank robbery, after all. Newt was crazy, Newt’s life was crazy, but Jacob wouldn’t change a thing about either. Even if it would be hard to make plans around him. They would find a way to still go on dates, because Jacob was more than willing to put in the effort to love Newt.

By the time he finally left the building, it was well into the afternoon and the only thing keeping him from entering into a truly horrible mood was the thought of being with Newt, his lover - a term that was still so beautifully novel to him - and spending the rest of the day with him, even if there might not be time to see a movie now, if Newt wanted to stick to his regular feeding times for the creatures. He knew Newt preferred to stick to some kind of schedule in that regard, every morning and evening, and only deviated from it in extreme circumstances. So no movie that day, then. But he was sure he could find a way to make up for it, in any way his lover desired.

The moment he entered the apartment, Queenie looked up from her sewing and beamed at him. “So you and Newt successfully evaded the law again?”

“It seems like we keep having near misses,” Jacob agreed. Not that he minded, of course. It was actually pretty fun, he thought as he chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. It was still curly, and he realised faintly that he’d never tamed it that morning. Well, that would probably make it easier for Newt to hold on to, if he was willing. 

“Oh, you two are terrible!” Queenie giggled. “You can’t keep your thoughts off each other.”

“Hey! He’s gorgeous, I can’t help it,” Jacob retorted, grinning at her. There was no point in having any shame or trying to hide it anymore. They all knew he wanted Newt, including Newt himself, and it wasn’t as if he was going to be afforded any more privacy anytime soon.

“Yeah, I know. Just go down in that case already and enjoy that new couple euphoria,” Queenie said and Jacob couldn’t help thinking that was an excellent idea. 

Moments later, he was descending the stairs into the familiar interior of Newt’s suitcase. Except when he entered Newt’s workshop, a door that he had only ever seen closed before was wide open and Newt was inside, his back to the door and his wand in his hand. Around him, objects seemed to be flying everywhere, rearranging themselves to his specifications around a large, plush looking bed. At the sound of Jacob’s footsteps, he turned around and gave him a soft smile. “Oh, Jacob, you’re back! Is there anything you’d particularly like in a bedroom?”

“Other than you, you mean?” he asked with a half smile, and Newt ducked his head to hide the grin that had blossomed on his face. 

“Yes, other than me. I thought you might appreciate a little redecorating, a larger bed, that sort of thing. I didn’t really need much in a bedroom before, just a place to sleep and store my clothing, but I… Well, I’d quite like to be spending more time in my bedroom, if you’d like that too.”

“You know I would. But you don’t have to do too much for me, I know this case is like… your own private world, you know?” It was a privilege to even get to come down here, into the world that Newt had quite literally created for himself and his creatures, let alone to have Newt carve out a space for Jacob himself to belong within it. 

“But I want to, Jacob,” Newt insisted. “I want you to enjoy spending time down here.”

“I already do, baby. Now, how about you leave the rest of the redecorating for now and we test out your new bed?” he suggested with a smirk, and Newt licked his lips and flushed a pretty pink. 

“That depends,” he murmured. “What exactly do you have in mind?”

“Whatever you want. I just want to make you feel good.” 

Newt seemed to consider this for a moment. “I want to try something new. I mean, of course I enjoyed the positions we tried earlier, but I-”

“You don’t gotta explain it to me, Newt. I get what you’re saying,” Jacob assured him hastily. Despite everything, Newt still seemed worried that he was going to say the wrong thing, offend or upset Jacob somehow. Sure, he could occasionally seem tactless and blunt or forget his manners, but most of the time it seemed like he was trying to avoid acting that way. Often not very successfully, but Jacob didn’t mind it. There was nothing wrong with openness and honesty. “If it’s something new you want, maybe I could use my mouth this time?” he offered with a smirk that made Newt turn a shade that almost matched his hair.

“Jacob, you do remember I don’t have a penis, don’t you?” he asked nervously. “You can’t fellate me.”

It took a decent amount of self-control not to let out the surprised laugh that was bubbling inside him. “I can. It’s just a little bit different,” Jacob assured him, and Newt tilted his head slightly as if thinking deeply. 

“I suppose a tongue could be used in a similar way to how fingers would be,” he said slowly. “But… Why?”

“What do you mean, ‘why’?”

“Why would anyone want to lick there?” How could someone so devastatingly sexy be so adorably naive? 

Still holding in his laugh, Jacob gave Newt a little shrug. “Because it makes the other person feel good? Same reasons people lick dicks, mostly.” 

“Oh.” Newt bit his lip, his cheeks still aflame, and Jacob couldn’t help noticing Newt’s hips shift slightly, and he smirked.

“Like that idea, then?” he asked. “My head between your thighs?”

Newt swallowed and nodded. “I think so. I’d like to try it. If you’re sure you want to, of course.”

“I’m sure,” Jacob said, and with that, he pulled Newt in and kissed him. 

He didn’t think he’d ever get used to the way Newt melted against him when they kissed, the way he leant in to meet Jacob’s lips and cupped his cheek in his hand, the way he let out soft noises of pleasure when Jacob’s tongue slipped into his mouth, and when Jacob moved his lips across Newt’s jaw and to his pulse point, adding to the hickeys he’d left on Newt’s neck earlier. 

Then Newt was unbuttoning his shirt, revealing the fitted t-shirt beneath it that hugged his slender, toned torso. Newt had such a lovely body, it was astounding that he wanted someone like Jacob. But it was impossible to doubt how much Newt did want him when he was ripping at the buttons on Jacob’s shirt now, desperate to undress him too. 

Jacob chuckled softly and pulled back for a moment to slip his shirt off his shoulders and pull his t-shirt off over his head, then did the same to Newt, discarding both shirts on the floor. Newt had such a lovely torso, hairless and freckled with a littering of scars from his travels and his creatures that made his body look so wonderfully lived in. He pushed Newt back onto the bed gently and climbed on top of him, his cock aching at the friction. What he wouldn’t give to push it inside Newt’s tight hole again, feel it hot and wet around him… But he would gladly wait if it meant that he got to taste him and make him feel good. He kissed down his chest, his lips brushing the edge of one particularly bad set of scars that looked like deep talons had gouged him. “How’d you get this one?” he asked in a low voice.

“Run in with a manticore I met in Persia,” he said breathlessly. “Not her fault, really.”

Jacob laughed faintly at that. Of course, Newt would say that. He suspected that a creature could stab him directly through the heart in a murderous rampage. And while he might not know exactly what a manticore was, he would hazard a guess that most wizards would probably run a mile at the mere sight of one. But Newt was not most wizards, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Oh, hush,” Newt said with a pout, but there was a glint in his eyes that made Jacob grin.

“Never,” he retorted, and shifted abruptly to take one of Newt’s nipples in his mouth, eliciting a surprised squeak from the man that made him chuckle as he licked it gently. But to his disappointment, Newt’s expression was one of confusion more than pleasure.

“Does that not feel good for you?” he asked, pulling back a fraction to look up at Newt properly.

“Not really. Is it supposed to?” Newt seemed worried now, as if he thought he had done something wrong, and Jacob quickly shifted back up to peck Newt’s lips briefly.

“It does for some people. It’s fine if it doesn’t for you, though,” Jacob assured him, and Newt seemed to relax as a relieved smile spread across his face.

“Oh, good. I don’t mind it if you like it, it’s just not particularly pleasurable. Perhaps try a little more suction, like when you were marking my neck?” Newt suggested, and Jacob dipped back down to test the theory out. “Mm… Better, but I wouldn’t say it’s especially pleasurable. I think the spells I used to shrink my chest may have numbed them slightly. Do you enjoy it?”

“Uh-huh,” Jacob hummed with a half smile, and Newt gave him a surprisingly wicked grin. Before he knew what was happening, Newt was rolling them over and straddling Jacob’s hips, bent down over him with wide eyes and a delightful blush that extended all the way down to his chest and his lips were brushing against Jacob’s nipple in a way that sent a rush of electricity through him and made him moan softly.

He could feel Newt’s smile against his skin, but it was nothing compared to the sensation of his tongue working his nipple to hardness. He pushed his hips up against Newt’s body, and this time, Newt moaned too. He shifted slightly so that his thigh was pressed directly into Jacob’s crotch, giving him a wonderfully firm surface to rub up against while Newt’s tongue worked with a surprising skill for someone who had never done this before.

Then Newt was moving downwards, down his torso and Jacob felt a faint twinge of anxiety mix in the pit of his far too large stomach. He sucked it in and tensed as much as he could, but it was still noticeably bigger and softer than Newt’s. But far from appreciating the effort, Newt sat up with a faint frown. “Jacob, are you alright?” he asked softly.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine.”

Newt raised his eyebrows. “But you’re tense. Are you uncomfortable with this?”

He considered lying, but he couldn’t do that to Newt. Not when he’d want his lover to be honest with him if he ever felt that way. So he forced himself to relax and look Newt in the eye, although Newt averted his eyes after a couple of seconds. “It’s not that I’m uncomfortable, I just… You’re all toned and handsome, and I’m a bigger guy, y’know?”

“Oh,” Newt sighed with an air of relief. “Jacob, I happen to find you incredibly handsome and I like your body as it is. Regardless of your insecurities, I’m very attracted to you. If I wasn’t, do you think I’d enjoy undressing you so much?” As he spoke, he ran a hand down Jacob’s torso and to his belt, slender fingers playing with the buckle. He laughed softly and shifted position so that he could kiss Newt, who smiled into the kiss and threaded his fingers into Jacob’s hair. “You’re beautiful,” he murmured when they pulled apart. “Now, may I use my mouth on you? I think I’d enjoy that.”

“Hey, I thought I was the one who was going to go down on you.”

“You were and you still can. But I’d like to try doing it to you too, if you’d like that,” he said with an air of adorable shyness that made Jacob want to kiss him all over again. So that’s exactly what he did. 

“I’d love it,” Jacob replied when he pulled back for air, and Newt gave him a grin. 

“In that case, I think you’re a smidge overdressed,” he said with an attempt at a smirk that was almost sexy. But where that particular expression didn’t quite meet the mark, he more than made up for it with what he did next. Newt grabbed his wand and with a single wave, the remainder of Jacob’s clothes removed themselves as if invisible hands were undressing him, and neatly arranged themselves on top of the dresser, leaving Jacob wearing nothing but a grin.

“Have I told you how much I love magic?” Jacob asked and Newt laughed softly.

“I think you might have mentioned it, yes,” he said as he shifted back down the bed towards Jacob’s now free erection. But instead of going straight to the event, Newt seemed to be slipping into scientist mode, examining him with a kind of fascination that made Jacob have to stifle a laugh. He ran a single finger up from the base of Jacob’s cock to the tip, licking his lips as he watched it twitch as Jacob’s muscles contracted slightly. He supposed it made sense, as a man without one, that Newt would be slightly intrigued. He’d probably never had his face so close to a human penis before. But then he leant in and repeated the movement with his tongue, making Jacob gasp. Grinning, Newt licked him again with a little more pressure, and Jacob exhaled shakily. Alright, it might not be a particularly finessed technique, but he loved it all the same.

Then Newt took the tip in his mouth and moved his lips and tongue as if he were kissing it, drawing a moan out from Jacob’s lips. Oh, he was actually pretty damn good at this… Jacob’s obvious pleasure seemed to encourage him immensely, and he slid his lips down, down, down… Until he choked and abruptly pulled back, spluttering and red faced.

“Hey, baby, are you okay?” Jacob asked. He sat up quickly to pat Newt on the back until he stopped coughing.

“F-fine,” he gasped out, his cheeks flaming. “It’s just a little bit harder than it looks - no pun intended.”

Jacob snorted a laugh at that. “Don’t worry about it, not everyone can take the whole thing. Some people can, but I’m pretty sure it takes practice.” Or at least he thought they could. He’d heard some of the guys at the factory and in the army talking about it, but he knew as well as anyone that they had a propensity for exaggeration. “You were doing good, baby.”

Newt ducked his head to hide a smile and some very pink cheeks and looked up at Jacob through his eyelashes in the most beautiful way, so beautiful that Jacob couldn’t have stopped the smile spreading across his face if he tried. With a gentle hand under Newt’s chin, he lifted his head up again and pressed their lips together.

When Newt broke the kiss, his pupils were blown wide and he had a dark look in his eyes that send a pool of heat directly to Jacob’s crotch. But then he was leaning in again, this time to Jacob’s neck, where he kissed and sucked at the ample flesh in a more than passable imitation of Jacob’s earlier ministrations. And damn, did it feel good. 

“You’re stunning,” Newt whispered, his hand trailing down Jacob’s torso and towards his crotch. Slender fingers wrapped around his cock and tugged gently, more of an experimental action than an intent to bring him to orgasm, but it made the breath catch in his throat all the same. Evidently encouraged, Newt slipped into an easy rhythm of gentle strokes. His hand was slightly roughened from manual labour and scarred from his years of dealing with all manner of beasts, but it couldn’t have been more perfect. “Would you like my mouth again?” he asked in a low voice, and it was incredible that he could be so adorable and so sexy at the same time.

“Mm, I’d love it,” he hummed and Newt grinned at him as he shifted back down the bed.

“Lie back for me,” Newt murmured, licking his lips. And Jacob didn’t need to be told twice. He relaxed back on the bed, his legs spread slightly. Newt settled between them and bowed his head down until his lips were wrapped over the head of Jacob’s cock, ginger curls falling down over his eyes. He looked like the portrait of pure desire, lust in human form, and Jacob was well and truly done for. Everything about him was incredible, too good to be true. And yet somehow, he was very real and all Jacob’s.

This time, Newt didn’t try to overstretch himself. He moved his tongue instead of his head, and it was so utterly wonderful that if Jacob hadn’t already known Newt was a wizard, he would have accused him of witchcraft right there and then. No one should be able to make an adult man with more than enough sexual experiences under his literal and proverbial belt feel so good with something as simple as the right movements of a tongue, the right level of suction. If Newt wanted to get in anything more than oral, he’d need to tone it down a little bit or else Jacob wouldn’t last long enough to give him much of anything. 

He tried to articulate this particular fact, but his mouth wasn’t working anymore. Or maybe it was his mind that was failing him. Something in there wasn’t doing its damn job, certainly - too focused on the sheer pleasure. But it didn’t matter. Might as well go the whole hog and give up on the idea of brain function entirely in favour of grabbing onto Newt’s lovely curls and letting out a low moan as his tongue worked its magic.

Newt hummed contentedly around Jacob’s cock, the vibration drawing a similar sound of pleasure from Jacob himself as he tilted his head back against the plush pillows of the bed, mouth open and eyes shut. His breathing was getting heavy, the heat within him coiling up inside him in an all-too-familiar way. “Newt, I’m gonna-” he gasped, his toes curling. But instead of pulling back, Newt continued to suck and lick, and when Jacob opened his eyes and looked down at him, his lips were so pink and pretty around him that he simply couldn’t hold back anymore. With a poorly stifled grunt, he came directly into Newt’s mouth.

To his credit, Newt definitely tried to swallow. He wasn’t entirely successful, however, and ended up with some spilling out of his mouth and down his chin in a way that definitely shouldn’t have been sexy, but somehow definitely was. Newt coughed, his cheeks aflame once more, and sat back up with a thoughtful expression. “I quite enjoyed that, I think. It’s a rather odd consistency to swallow though, and surprisingly salty,” he said as he wiped his face clean.

It sounded so much like Newt was reviewing one of his culinary experiments that Jacob couldn’t help himself. He let out a laugh, a smile spread across his face as he too sat up, leaving Newt looking adorably confused. “What’s so funny?” he asked as Jacob’s laughter subsided.

“You’re cute, that’s all. I don’t think anyone else would review me after sucking me off,” he said with a giggle, and Newt flushed.

“Oh. Was I not supposed to do that?” Newt asked with a self-conscious air.

“Baby, ‘supposed to’ doesn’t matter. I don’t want you to be like everyone else, I want you to be like you, y’know?” Newt was a strange guy, yes, but what did it matter? If Jacob hadn’t liked him that way, he wouldn’t have fallen for him and they definitely wouldn’t have been sharing a bed down in Newt’s own private kingdom. “Now, come here. I want to make you feel good.”

“You already do,” Newt murmured, but shifted back up the bed and into Jacob’s arms anyway. “Was I alright, then?”

“You were fantastic,” Jacob assured him, his lips barely brushing Newt’s. But Newt leant in closer, making the kiss firmer, his arms wrapping around Jacob’s waist as he let his eyes fall shut. Jacob too closed his eyes, revelling in the feeling of having Newt in his arms. He could have stayed like that for hours, and if Newt had already finished, he would have. But he wasn’t going to leave Newt unsatisfied, no matter how comfortable he was cuddling him. “Do you want it, baby?” he asked when their lips separated. 

“If by ‘it’, you mean sex, I do,” Newt murmured. “Well, if the tongue thing you mentioned earlier counts as sex. Although I wouldn’t mind the more traditional kind of sex either, honestly.”

Jacob chuckled softly and gave him another quick peck on the lips. “Whatever you want to call it, I can give it to you. Now take off your pants and lie back for me, okay baby?”

Newt smiled shyly and knelt up to slide his pants and underwear slowly down, revealing lovely milk white thighs and the patch of soft auburn hair between them. The way he moved, his hips shifting hypnotically, had to be its own kind of magic, it was so erotic and so sensual. He could be in a vaudeville burlesque show with a body like that. Although Jacob had never dared to attend one of those himself, so he couldn’t be sure. He knew there were all kinds of shows out there, some of them especially for guys like them, but he’d never been able to pluck up the courage to investigate it. But why would he now, when he had someone this beautiful right there with him? 

Jacob watched as a now naked Newt moved onto his back, lying there on the bed looking all kinds of pretty with his arms up over his torso in a protective sort of shyness. “You ready, buddy?” he asked softly, running a hand up Newt’s thigh, a feather light touch with his fingertips that, far from comforting the man, made him tense up and bite his lower lip.

“Yes,” Newt mumbled, but his body language said anything but. Jacob might not be an expert at reading people, he might not have mind-reading powers, but he could tell something was up. Newt’s fists were clenched and he looked incredibly uncomfortable, and there was no way Jacob was going to just ignore that.

“Newt… Do you not like it when I touch you like that?” he asked uncertainly, and Newt bit his lip again. “It’s fine if you don’t, but you gotta tell me stuff like this, okay?”

Newt nodded. “I don’t want to upset you or make you stop, and I never know what kind of things I’m allowed or supposed to say. But no, I don’t like it. Not just from you, from anyone. I much prefer a deliberate touch, a decent amount of pressure.” As he spoke, Newt still seemed fidgety 

“You won’t upset me and if neither of us want to stop, why would I?” he asked with a smile that Newt seemed unable to resist responding to, with a twitch of his own lips. He leant down and kissed Newt briefly before continuing. “It’ll be better for both of us if you tell me what you like, and I’ll do the same for you, yeah? Now, how’s this for you?” he asked as he moved his hand back to Newt’s thigh, this time rubbing much more firmly, as if he were giving a massage, and a smile spread across Newt’s face.

“Oh, that’s much better!” Newt sighed, the tension slowly leaving his body. He was stunning like this, relaxed and spread out on the bed with his legs apart and his head tilted back, those beautiful soft lips pulled into a small smile. He looked like a work of art.

Jacob shifted down the bed, settling between Newt’s legs, and leant down to kiss his inner thigh, drawing out a shaky gasp from Newt that made him grin against his lover’s pale flesh. Then, without warning, he leant in and gave Newt a long, slow lick up to his clit that made him gasp again, his head lifting up off the pillow. “Oh!” he moaned, shifting his hips impatiently up against Jacob’s face, and Jacob chuckled faintly and repeated the movement.

“That good, baby?” he asked in a low voice, and Newt nodded emphatically.

“It’s strange, but I like it,” he said breathlessly. “Keep going, please.” 

So with a grin, Jacob did just that. He lapped at Newt’s sex, drawing out such wonderful sounds from him, and watching with glee as Newt seemed to struggle to stay still. Perhaps next time he’d have Newt sit on his face and rock as much as he wanted. Now that certainly did sound appealing… But then Newt lifted his legs over Jacob’s shoulders, and Jacob remembered all the advantages of their current position. “Fuck, you’re perfect,” he groaned, shifting slightly under Newt’s legs before renewing his ministrations.

He kissed Newt’s clit deeply, his nose buried in the auburn curls, breathing him in like a drowning man breathes air, before he started to lick again - this time, focusing all his attention on that one sweet spot that made Newt gasp and moan so shamelessly. He was delicious, already so very wet, and gorgeous, so gorgeous… It could have been a dream, but if it was, he never wanted to wake up. Newt’s fingers were in his hair now, gripping tight as he pushed upwards against Jacob’s face, his head tilted back and his lips parted in such obvious pleasure that, even having already come, Jacob felt a faint heat in the pit of his stomach as he kissed and licked in a steady rhythm.

“Ah, like that, yes!” Newt gasped, his breath coming in heavy pants now. “Ja-Jacob, yes!” He was getting louder, desperately pushing up against Jacob, so much so that Jacob had to place a firm hand on his hip to keep him steady. It was intoxicating, having Newt so utterly eager and all for him. Then, with a strangled cry of sheer ecstasy, his back arched and his grip on Jacob’s hair tightening, Newt was coming in a renewed rush of wetness, and Jacob lapped it up like a man starved until Newt collapsed, boneless and grinning, back on the bed.

Jacob licked his lips and shifted back up the bed to lie on his side next to Newt, grinning back at him. “How was that for you then?” he asked, and Newt gave a breathless laugh.

“Fantastic,” he murmured. “Far better than I could have imagined.” He sat up slightly to pull Jacob in, a hand on the nape of his neck as he kissed him deeply. He could probably taste himself in the kiss, a thought that shouldn’t have aroused him and yet… He didn’t know why, but that idea was indisputably sexy. Newt was indisputably sexy. He was particularly perfect like this, languidly relaxed and practically glowing. All the tension and nervousness he had ever held in that beautiful, lithe body seemed to have ebbed away, leaving him looking like the picture of complete bliss and serenity. 

If he were younger, he would have wanted to take Newt all over again. But as an adult with more than a few experiences under his literal and metaphorical belt, he was more than happy to rest a while. He didn’t feel the same impatient need as he once would have, but a pleasant desire that could stretch out over any period, and he knew he’d have all the time in the world to make love to Newt over and over. 

“You know, if I’d known people could do  _ that _ to my, ah, parts, I’d have been having years of much more varied fantasies,” Newt said mildly, and Jacob chuckled faintly.

“Oh, yeah? You’ve had a lot of fantasies then?” he asked, and Newt seemed too relaxed to be too embarrassed, although his cheeks still flushed. It seemed as though he had a permanent blush under his skin, waiting for the faintest provocation to spread across his face. It really was adorable. 

“Maybe,” Newt murmured, looking down coyly but seemingly unable to stop smiling, and Jacob laughed softly. It wasn’t as if he had been expecting anything different though, really. Newt may be the innocent type, but he was pretty sure most guys had been having sexual fantasies since they were teenagers, regardless of whether or not they wanted to admit it. And not to mention, Newt spent most of his time living in a world with animals who would probably go at it like, well, animals regularly, so it wasn’t as if he’d been unaware of what sex was, even if he was inexperienced. Perhaps, next time, he’d ask Newt a little more about those fantasies of his and maybe see if they could try any of them out, but for the time being, he was content to just stay with Newt, lying back with him on their bed. Their bed. He could definitely get used to saying that.

“You’re real cute, you know?” Jacob said softly, pushing Newt’s hair back off his forehead. 

“I could say the same about you,” Newt murmured, and Jacob shook his head. He wasn’t the worst looking guy, he knew that, but he was distinctly average in every category but weight and hadn’t been called cute since he was a tiny child. “I could!” Newt insisted. “You’re attractive and handsome, but you’re cute too. Particularly your smile. You have a particularly cute smile.”

“I love you, Newt,” he said, the words leaving him without thought. It was early in this relationship, possibly too early for such a declaration, but he meant it completely. Newt stared at him for a moment, his mouth slightly open, and actually managed to make eye contact as he replied.

“I love you too,” he murmured, a smile spreading across his beautiful face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting this at 2:30 in the morning so please let me know if there are any glaring mistakes I've missed in my editing.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jacob and Newt are in love, and nothing could be sweeter.

Newt had always been the type to feel things deeply. When those feelings were of pain and misery, it was a curse, but at times like these, he wouldn’t have had it any other way. There was so much happiness inside him, an overwhelming flood of sheer joy and elation, he could have jumped and twirled and danced around the whole case. He was in love, and Jacob loved him back. He knew Newt’s oddities, his inadequacies, his eccentricities, and he still loved him. And though realistically he knew Jacob could still break his heart, but that wasn’t going to stop him handing it over to him, completely and willingly, and trusting him not to. 

“How’d I get so lucky, hmm?” Jacob asked, his hand coming to rest on Newt’s chest, a reassuring pressure against his bare skin, which flushed pink in embarrassed pleasure. 

“I would say I’m the lucky one, actually,” Newt murmured. “I have an exceptionally beautiful man in my bed, after all.”

“Oh, yeah? Where is he?” Jacob asked and Newt looked at him for a moment. He was pretty sure Jacob was teasing, but he himself knew it could be hard to pick up on what people meant sometimes. The best response would probably be one that worked for either case.

“Right here,” Newt said with a faint smile and pressed his lips against Jacob’s. “He’s really quite devastatingly handsome, actually.”

Jacob laughed and pulled Newt closer. “You really think I’m good-looking, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t.” Jacob really was stunning, with broad shoulders and strong arms and a smile that was simply radiant. And that was before he even took his clothes off. How could anyone not see that? How could anyone look at him and not want him? It was honestly inconceivable. “I’ve found you good-looking since the day I first met you.”

“I could say the same for you, gorgeous. You were all distracted, looking for that niffler, but I swear I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you,” Jacob said, and Newt smiled. A glance up into Jacob’s eyes showed such a fondness that Newt beamed brighter and had to exercise all his self-control to stop himself from slipping into old habits of strange movements that made him look insane. But would Jacob mind them as others had done? Newt couldn’t imagine Jacob laughing at him or telling him to stop it. No, he’d probably behave more like Theseus - bemused by the whole thing but content to let him act as strangely as he liked, even if that meant flapping his hands around like he was trying to beat off a pack of doxies or bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. 

Theseus was going to love Jacob, he just knew it. Newt couldn’t wait to introduce the pair. Jacob and his brother were two of the most important people in his life, and he was certain that they’d get on well. The only problem that could arise came in the form of Theseus’s fondness for embarrassing him. But it seemed like Jacob might share in that fondness, given how much he liked Newt’s blush. And he would probably love to hear all the stories Theseus had of Newt’s childhood and teenage years. 

“What are you thinking about?” Jacob asked, and Newt glanced up into his eyes again. 

“What will happen when you met my brother. I’m sure he’ll be desperate to introduce himself when he finds out we’re together.”

“Is he gonna want to give me the whole ‘hurt him and I’ll kill you’ talk?”

“Almost certainly yes. But he won’t mean a word of it. He’d never hurt you if it would upset me, and I’m certain he’s going to like you so he wouldn’t want to curse you either way, even if he says otherwise. He looks intimidating and tries to act it, but I promise he’s not as bad as he likes to think,” Newt said with a faint smirk. Well, that wasn’t strictly speaking true. Auror Scamander could be a terrifying man, and was known and revered worldwide for his bravery and talents. But that was when he was working. Theseus the big brother was full of smiles and affectionate teasing, eager to listen to whatever Newt wanted or needed to say, and always ready to dispense tight, familiar hugs. It was impossible for Newt to imagine being afraid of his brother. But then again, people did often say that Newt had no concept of what was and wasn’t dangerous. 

“You ever brought anyone to meet him before?” Jacob asked.

“Sort of. I was- Well. Not quite involved, but certainly fond of a girl when I was at Hogwarts. He did feel the need to threaten her for me, but given that we were all underage and she had no intention of actually being in a relationship with me, it wasn’t quite the same. And unlike you, she wasn’t so… Nice. I don’t dislike her though, although Theseus thinks I should.”

Theseus had expressed several choice words for Leta, none of which he wanted to repeat. Queenie had been kinder, describing her as a taker when she’d heard about how she’d treated him. She’d said that he needed a giver. Although Newt didn’t think that was quite right. He didn’t want to take from anyone, nor have anyone take from him. He wanted someone who would share their life and love with him, not give or take.

Leta had definitely not been a sharer. She hadn’t made him feel the way Jacob made him feel. It had always felt as if she thought she was the only one who would like him. With Jacob, it was as though he believed the whole world should be as in love with Newt as he was. He didn’t want Newt for any other reason than love, and he would not expect Newt to sacrifice himself for him time and time again, as Leta had done, but allow them both to protect each other.

Jacob was a sharer, without a doubt. He was selfless, but not in the way Newt had once been. He would neither take advantage nor be taken advantage of. He was both kind and strong at the same time, and Newt loved that about him. Perhaps he was biased, but he couldn’t help thinking that Jacob embodied so many of the traits that made Newt proud to be a Hufflepuff. 

“Why does he think that?” Jacob asked.

“She… Well, among other things, she was the reason I was expelled from Hogwarts, in my sixth year. If I hadn’t already been of age, Theseus would have been even more furious. At least I was old enough to keep my wand, and I had my OWLs.”

A flicker of anger crossed over Jacob’s face, followed by faint confusion. “And OWLs are?”

“Wizarding qualifications. It stands for Ordinary Wizarding Levels. We take them in our fifth year at Hogwarts, and then take NEWTs, the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, in our seventh. I had to be given private tuition for those, since I was homeschooled for my seventh year. I think I preferred it, honestly.”

“Huh. I guess I hadn’t thought about wizard school having tests. What happens if you fail them? Do you not get to be a wizard?”

“Not necessarily. You might not be able to keep attending if you fail everything, but in those cases, most people would be taught at home, by their parents or hired tutors, and retake the exams after another year of study. Otherwise, you just have to cope with bad results.”

“And how’d you do?” Jacob asked with that endearing note of curiosity to his voice. Newt loved his fascination with magic, his genuine interest in hearing Newt explain things. Most people hated it when Newt got too enthusiastic or spoke for too long, but Jacob seemed to actually like it.

“Not too badly. In my OWLs, I only failed Divination. I got by with As in Muggle Studies, History of Magic and Potions, and I got Es in Defense Against The Dark Arts, Charms, Astronomy, Transfiguration and Herbology. No Os, unfortunately. Theseus got five, of course.”

“Hold up, Es? Os? What does that mean?”

“It stands for Outstanding. E is Exceeds Expectations, A is Acceptable, and then P and D are the failing grades, which stand for Poor and Dreadful. Quite simple, really.”

“That’s pretty good, then. I mean, you exceeded expectations in most of them, that’s gotta be good. Although I think the only subject I even kinda know there is Astronomy. That’s like… stars, right?” Jacob asked hesitantly, and Newt beamed.

“It is. Do muggles learn Astronomy too?”

“Not in school. I think some people do it for fun? And there’ve been scientists who’ve learnt about stars and junk. I really don’t know much about it,” Jacob said, scratching his head with a vague air of self-consciousness. But Newt was still impressed.

“That’s excellent! If you’d ever like to learn, I think I have my telescope somewhere around here. I’m not sure exactly where, but I’m almost certain it’s in here.”

“So I don’t need magic?” he asked uncertainly.

“Oh, no. It’s like taking care of my creatures - it is part of the wizarding world, but you don’t need magic or a wand. The same goes for Potions, History of Magic and Herbology, for that matter. And Muggle Studies of course, but I doubt you’d have any interest in that subject,” Newt said with a faint laugh. As if he could teach Jacob anything he didn’t already know about Muggles. If anything, Jacob should be teaching Newt. He already was, in a way. Newt was fairly sure that he had learnt just as much about Muggles being with Jacob as he had at Hogwarts. Perhaps, given more time with Jacob, he could learn more.

“Huh. So if I wanted to learn all that stuff, I could? Even though I’m a no-m- a muggle?”

“Would you like me to teach you?” Newt asked shyly. He had never wanted to teach before, but he had managed to teach Jacob how to look after the creatures, and Jacob wouldn’t laugh at him if he stammered or make fun of him like children might if he ever tried to teach them.

Jacob grinned at him, his eyes lighting up in the most beautiful way, and Newt grinned back. “I’d love that. And hey, maybe I could teach you to cook in return? I know it ain’t exactly magic, but-”

“It’s just as good as magic. It’s important to you and you’re very talented. Your grandmother taught you well, and I’d be incredibly lucky to learn from you,” Newt said firmly. He couldn’t stand Jacob thinking that his talents, his abilities, were somehow lesser than Newt’s just because he had been born a muggle and not a wizard.

Jacob gave him a warm smile and leant in to kiss Newt briefly. “Thank you, baby. That means a lot.”

“Perhaps I should add a proper kitchen in here,” Newt suggested, and Jacob raised his eyebrows.

“Wait- Let me get this straight. You didn’t have a proper bedroom and you don’t have a proper kitchen?” he asked incredulously. 

“I never needed either,” Newt said with a shrug. “If I can prepare food for my creatures, I can prepare food for myself.”

Jacob closed his eyes as if gathering strength and muttered something under his breath that Newt didn’t quite catch, then opened his eyes and raised his voice so that Newt could hear him clearly. “You’re crazy, you know that? You gotta take better care of yourself.”

“I do eat and sleep. I’d be no good to my creatures if I keeled over from exhaustion or starvation,” Newt insisted, and Jacob just shook his head.

“Get a kitchen,” he insisted. “I’ll cook for you sometime, and teach you how to really take care of yourself.” A faint smirk crossed Jacob’s face, but he pushed it aside quickly.

“What’s funny?” Newt asked.

“It’s just- That sounded kinda sexual,” he said, and Newt flushed. He hadn’t thought of that, but now it was all he could think of.

“Oh. Well. I, er, I don’t think I need to be, um, taught that,” he muttered, and Jacob barked out a laugh.

“Oh, yeah, baby?” he asked with an amused air and a raised eyebrow that only made Newt blush deeper.

“Mm. I did, um... figure that out quite some time ago.” They’d had sex twice, they were naked in bed together, and yet he still felt all embarrassed talking like this. Why was it so difficult when he wasn’t aroused to just talk about sex? Jacob didn’t seem to find it this embarrassing. “I think I told you that you were my first partner, so surely it makes sense that I would be fully capable of, um, taking care of myself by now.”

He knew he had said worse, but most of that had been when he was being pleasured, so that didn’t really count. It was easier not to be embarrassed when all he could think about was how good it felt. But without that distracting stimulation? Trying to sound sexually appealing was no easy task. This wasn’t the sort of scientific thought and discussion he had mentally applied to sex before, the kind that allowed him to detail mating habits without a hint of embarrassment. Yes, masturbation was enjoyable, but it was not necessarily an overly erotic experience. Sometimes, it was simply a means to an end, a way to relax his body and replace tension with pleasure.

“Yeah, you’re right. Besides, I’m pretty sure almost everyone does it,” Jacob said with a shrug, then pecked Newt’s lips lightly.

“What was that for?”

“I just felt like it. You look cute when you’re all red, and I love you,” he murmured, and Newt grinned. Every time Jacob complimented him, he felt this ridiculously strong surge of happiness run through his body, as if he had just been put under a cheering charm. And every time he kissed him, he felt like he was floating. If he were to attempt the patronus charm, the result would without a doubt be the most powerful patronus he’d ever conjured. 

Newt looked at Jacob for a moment, then leant in and joined their lips together once more. “I love you too,” he said when they pulled apart, and the smile that lit up Jacob’s face was the most exquisitely beautiful thing he had ever seen. 

He would have been happy to stay there for hours, and probably would have done if he hadn’t heard a faint thudding at the door to his shed. “Ah. I think the mooncalves have decided they’re hungry,” he said with a fond smile as he pulled himself out of bed. Usually, they’d be in here already, bouncing up around him, eager for attention. But it was probably best that they weren’t, really. Andromeda in particular was very fond of cuddles, and she would almost certainly have wanted to join them in bed. Newt grabbed his wand and summoned himself a fresh pair of boxers and pyjama trousers. There was no need to be overly decent, but even after all this time, it felt odd to walk around totally naked in front of his creatures. No, it was better to wear something, even if it was very little. Shirts, however, were strictly optional. Particularly if that would also encourage Jacob to frequently forgo the garments.

“Would you like to help with the feeding?” Newt asked, offering Jacob a hand.

Jacob took the offered hand and positively beamed at him. “You know I would.”

This was definitely a life that Newt could get used to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically the final chapter, although there is an epilogue coming up and also two brand new fics that could be seen as continuations if you'd like that. I don't know when exactly, but they're coming.


	10. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks on, and Jacob and Newt are still infatuated with each other.

It had been two weeks since Jacob had first kissed Newt, and he still felt like unreal. He was totally gone, a hundred percent besotted with this crazy man, and the rush of affection he felt every time he so much as looked at Newt didn’t seem to be dying down anytime soon. 

He was in love, living with the most wonderful and magical man - both literally and metaphorically - that he had ever known, and he was about to have his own bakery. He was officially the proud owner of 443 Rivington Street, with his shop on the ground floor and an apartment above it, and his wonderful sweetheart would be sharing it with him. Well, after a fashion. Newt was adamant that he preferred sleeping in his suitcase, but had agreed that it would be helpful to have a safe place to leave it that was theirs and theirs alone and for Jacob to be at home when Newt was out with his case at his side. 

Granted, it didn’t look much like a home yet. The walls and cupboards were still bare, and they had hardly any furniture, but it was still theirs. And, as it turned out, moving house was a whole lot easier with magical assistance. It wouldn’t be long at all before it looked like home, or as much as was possible when they couldn’t have too much obvious magic going on outside Newt’s case, just in case another no-maj came calling.

Queenie’s legilimency combined with a natural talent for interior design meant that it took less than an hour for their possessions to be unpacked and arranged exactly to their tastes, so much so that Jacob found himself with little else to do than start breaking in his new kitchen. The least he could do for the two women after everything was to make them dinner, and he was more than happy to do so. 

And then, when they had eaten and their friends had gone home, he and Newt could really make this place their own and enjoy their new bedroom. As that particular thought entered his mind, Jacob heard a faint giggle from the doorway behind him and turned around to see Queenie standing there, her wand in her hand and a bright smile on her face. “You got it bad, huh?” she asked teasingly.

“You know it,” he grinned. 

“He’s the same way, you know. He’s been thinking about having some fun on the couch ever since he moved it in.”

Now that sounded fun, and the image in his mind was absolutely delectable… Jacob licked his lips and didn’t even bother trying to feign disinterest. Queenie would see through it no trouble anyway. “Oh, yeah. He would like that,” he said with a faint smirk. They could definitely both have fun with that. As often as they liked, now that this place was theirs. 

“You know, I’m real happy for you two,” Queenie murmured. “You make each other’s thoughts all bright and warm and fuzzy-like. It’s real sweet.”

“I still can’t believe he feels the same way,” Jacob said with a shake of his head and a faintly dazed smile. 

“Of course he does, honey! You’re a real catch, and he’s absolutely smitten.”

It really did feel like a dream, but if it was, he never wanted to wake up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end! I have plans for a few new fics in the works right now, some of which could be read as occurring in the same verse, as well as the ones I already have in progress, and I'm always open to suggestions here and on my [tumblr](http://wildeisms.tumblr.com) if you have anything in particular you'd like me to write.
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who's read this fic and I really hope you've all enjoyed it! <3


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